Why do a urine test for a baby?
How to collect urine from a baby using a urine bag?
- How to collect urine from a newborn girl?
- How to collect urine from a newborn boy?
How to take urine from a baby without a special urinal?
- Collecting urine in a regular bag
- Collecting urine in a jar
The birth of a person is the most remarkable event in the history of every family. But with the birth of a baby, parents have a lot of worries and troubles, because everyone wants their child to grow up to have a full and healthy life. It is for this purpose that from the very cradle it is necessary to examine the child for any abnormalities in health. Thus, a newborn is checked by a pediatrician, ENT doctor, cardiologist and other specialists while still in the maternity hospital, and urine, feces and blood tests are also collected for laboratory diagnostics.
What to use to collect urine from a newborn
There are many ways to collect urine from a child at home. All of them are time-tested, but there are three most common ones that make this task easier for many parents and do not create severe discomfort for the child.
First way. Urinal
Now pharmacies sell special urinals. They already come sterile and do not require much hassle when collecting urine. They look like a small bag with a hole in the top. For reliability, there are special Velcro strips on the urinal that are glued to the perineum and do not allow the urinal to move from its place. Velcro is completely hypoallergenic and does not cause irritation even on the most delicate skin.
How to properly collect urine using a urine bag
Before starting the procedure, the baby should be thoroughly washed using baby soap. The child is placed in a horizontal position, and a urine bag is attached between the legs. The entire procedure is carried out only in an upright position; if the baby cannot yet stand on his own, he should be held in his arms. For a quick effect, you can stand next to a tap and open water.
After collecting the analysis, the urine is poured into a prepared sterile jar. You should not attach a urine bag under the diaper ; the result of such collection will be an empty container and a full diaper.
Second way. Jar
This method is the most proven. To collect urine, a jar specially purchased at a pharmacy or any glass jar of baby puree that you have at home is suitable. The jar must be thoroughly washed, doused with boiling water and dried completely.
How to collect urine in a jar
The baby should be washed and laid on a clean oilcloth. The jar should be held in your hands, as soon as the child begins to write, the jar is placed under the stream and filled. In order not to scare the baby, you should not make sudden movements.
Thus, you can collect urine from a boy; a jar is not suitable for a girl.
For girls, a deep, clean and sterilized plate is used, which is placed under the butt. When the baby goes to the toilet, the plate is very carefully pulled out and the contents are poured into a sterilized jar.
Third way. Plastic bag
The package is the progenitor of the modern urinal, as it has the same principle of operation.
To collect the analysis, only a new plastic bag with handles is used. The arms are cut and tied on the child's legs. As a result, it looks like a homemade urine bag, which is located between the child’s legs.
When collecting the analysis, the baby must be in an upright position so that urine does not spill out of the bag. After collection, the bag is untied and the contents are poured into the prepared container.
Disadvantages of each method
Despite the ease and accessibility of each method, they have their drawbacks.
| Urine collection method | Flaws |
| Urinal | It is not always possible to collect urine the first time. |
| Jar |
|
| Plastic bag |
|
"Harmful" advice
On the Internet you can find many methods, including “grandmother’s” ones, which modern mothers continue to actively use. Not all of them are good and can provide reliable results.
Not recommended:
Squeeze urine out of a diaper or diaper. Many mothers do not bother with containers, preferring to do just that, forgetting that inside the diaper there is an absorbent that turns the liquid into a gel - and such a substance is not very suitable for delivery to the laboratory. They may not accept it. And the diaper, in turn, “supplies” the analysis with fibers and substances that significantly distort the result;
- Pour liquid from the pot. It is almost impossible to sterilize a pot and make it completely sterile. As a result, doctors will find a large number of leukocytes in the analysis, which is a sign of infection, and parents and their child will have to spend a lot of time in hospitals and purchase expensive medications to treat a non-existent disease;
- Storing urine for more than 2 hours also negatively affects the reliability of the test result.
It is not recommended to use a plastic bag to collect urine; this method is called “unhygienic.” The question of how to collect urine from a one-year-old or three-month-old girl is not difficult - the main thing is to pay attention to hygiene and preparation. To make the process easier, you can buy a urinal bag at the pharmacy.
Features of urine collection in a girl
Collecting urine from a girl is more difficult than from a boy. Before starting to collect the analysis, the child must be washed in the direction from the genitals to the butt , this will not allow bacteria to be introduced into the vagina. When washing, you need to be very careful, as the noise of the water can create urination. After washing the baby, wipe it dry with a towel or napkin.
Classic and modern method of collecting urine from girls:
- Classical. For this method, you will need a small deep saucer sterilized with boiling water, which is placed under the baby’s bottom. To speed up the process, you can stroke the baby's tummy clockwise. After collecting the analysis in a plate, it is poured into a jar, and the child is washed again, since with this method urine gets on delicate skin and can cause irritation.
- Modern. This method uses a urinal. When using this method, the child is washed and then laid horizontally. The urine bag is glued between the legs on the girl’s labia using an adhesive layer, and the child is placed in an upright position.
Basic Tips
They apply to both boys and girls. The question of how to properly test urine from a baby worries any parent who is faced with the need to collect material for research.
Some general tips:
- If you put a diaper on your child while sleeping at night, in the morning you just need to unfasten it so that the baby gets cold and immediately pees;
- You can give your baby water, but only if he is not fully breastfed. Otherwise, doctors do not recommend giving him anything else to drink until six months;
- Try taking your child into the bathroom and turning on the water so he can hear it. This is a good way to stimulate urination;
- Massage also helps - with a warm hand, lightly press on the lower abdomen.
For moms and dads of little princesses, there is another good method. Take a regular cotton pad and soak it in warm water (but not hot). Place the disc between the baby's legs.
The main thing is to know the rules for collecting urine from a newborn girl so that the analysis shows a reliable result.
More about urine collection
Stimulation of urination in an infant
To reduce the waiting time during urine collection, you can use several methods:
- During the night, you can offer your baby more liquid; if he is breastfed, then put him to the breast more often;
- Before you start collecting urine, you can expose the baby’s bottom - the influx of cool air will speed up the process and help provoke urination. The main thing is not to let the child freeze (no more than 7 minutes);
- You can open the water tap - the sound of water will help the baby tune in to the right mood;
- Try a light massage of the abdomen in a clockwise direction, the massage is done in the area where the bladder is located.
All these methods will help achieve the desired result in the shortest possible time, and most importantly, without unnecessary inconvenience and discomfort for the baby.
How to collect biomaterial from a baby using a plastic bag?
There is no limit to the ingenuity and resourcefulness of parents - it turns out that collecting urine for analysis can be done with an ordinary plastic bag: cheap, accessible, and effective. You need to take a “T-shirt” bag - with handles that are cut for convenient fixation of the bag on the child’s legs. The sides of the bag need to be cut slightly so that its shape vaguely resembles a diaper. This simple design is attached to the baby, after which they wait for the “miracle” to happen.
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It is important that the baby remains in a horizontal position all this time. When the urine is collected in a bag, it must be poured into a sterile container and sent for analysis to the clinic.
How much do you need to collect?
When the child is still a newborn, it is very difficult for parents to carry out the urine collection procedure. And after the child gave the treasured 10 ml. urine, they joyfully carry them to the laboratory. But, unfortunately, not every laboratory accepts such a small amount of urine for analysis. Any pediatrician, along with issuing a referral for analysis, must explain how much urine needs to be brought.
According to Sulkovich - To take a urine test according to Sulkovich, you need to collect all the urine that is collected on an empty stomach in the early morning.
According to Nechiporenko - But when taking a urine test, you need at least 17 ml of collected fluid.
The limited framework was created for a reason, because urine analysis is always done in detail. Indicators such as urine specific gravity and some other health indicators are very difficult to obtain from a small amount of biological material.
Collection rules
It is important to clarify that a urine test can be performed in 3 ways:
- analysis according to Nechiporenko – traditional;
- according to Addis-Kakovsky - daily allowance;
- according to Sulkovich - determination of calcium.
Urine for the first and last procedures is collected in the same way. This must be done in the morning, the amount of biomaterial should be at least 5 ml.
With the collection of analysis according to Addis-Kakovsky, everything is not so simple. Urine should be collected within 24 hours, in one container. Then 200 gr. a well-mixed liquid is submitted for analysis. A one-year-old child may have difficulties collecting analysis for the following reasons:
- Since the baby pees almost every 30 minutes, keeping the baby on the changing table all day will be extremely difficult.
- It is also difficult to collect urine from a child using a bag. Especially if you don't have the skills. Therefore, you will have to experiment.
Another interesting point is that for adults there is a list of foods that should not be consumed before urine collection. This includes salty and peppery foods, seasonings, and pharmaceuticals. Beets and carrots are also prohibited because they can change the color of urine.
The same restrictions apply to newborns. Of course, the baby herself will not consume these products, but with breast milk she can get it in full. Therefore, before collecting urine from a child, the mother should abstain from the above foods in the evening. This also includes watermelons, melons and cucumbers. They have a diuretic effect, which means they can affect the composition of milk.
It is important to remember that urine changes composition quite quickly at warm temperatures. Especially in bacteriological terms.
What not to do
When collecting a urine test from a child, there are actions that cannot be performed:
- Urine should not be squeezed out of diapers or diapers, and urine should not be poured out of a potty; such an analysis will not give reliable results, since it contains fabric fibers and bacteria;
- Urine analysis is stored for a very short time, so collection is carried out only in the morning;
- Urine is not collected if the infant took antibiotics the day before;
- The collection container must be clean and completely sterile to prevent bacteria from entering the analysis.
Urinal bag as a panacea for potential problems and inconveniences
To the great joy of parents, in order to successfully implement the material selection process, the industry of the relevant profile kindly provides the opportunity to use a special urinal bag.
What is this simple device? At its core, it is a sterile bag , equipped with a special Velcro, attached to the baby’s perineum. This design ensures the tightness and purity of the resulting material.
There are urinals designed only for girls and especially for boys. This is the best option in terms of comfort. But there are also universal devices aimed at representatives of both sexes.
The procedure for collecting material from girls is as follows. After thoroughly washing your hands, washing the child and removing any remaining moisture with a disposable towel, you should place the baby on his back and provide access to the child’s genitals. Having exposed the Velcro of the urinal, it is necessary to place it strictly in the area of the labia, excluding the anus area, and gently press it to the baby’s body.
The final fixation can be provided with a diaper or diaper. During urine collection, the child can be held in his arms to maintain a tight seal. The volume of liquid should be monitored using a special scale marked on the urinal reservoir.
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After urination, the urinal bag is carefully separated from the baby’s skin, and the liquid is transferred to a special sterile container.
The specificity of collecting urine through this device in a boy lies only in the geometry of the opening of the urinal and the method of attaching this structure to the child’s body.
In this case, the genitals are placed inside the reservoir, and Velcro is attached to the baby’s perineum. Otherwise, all recommendations are exactly the same as in the previous paragraphs.
These products can be found in almost any pharmacy at very, very affordable prices.
Using a rubber circle
The rubber circle is washed, wiped dry and wrapped in a diaper. A clean deep plate is placed in its center. The girl is washed and each of her legs is wrapped in a separate diaper. Then she is laid on a circle and covered with a diaper or blanket, depending on the air temperature in the room. Adults must be near the baby and watch her.
This method of urine collection is most convenient for girls 1–3 months of age; its use in older children is difficult due to their significant mobility and reluctance to lie quietly in one position.
