Your doctor will likely supply you with a specimen cup and medical gloves so you can collect a urine sample at home. Your doctor may also supply you with special wipes for this purpose. The wet wipes are to thoroughly clean your daughter’s genitalia so no bacteria on her skin gets into her urine sample. Paper towels are a good idea to keep on hand to wipe up any urine spills and to dry your hands after washing.
If you are able, before attempting to collect a urine sample, give your daughter a bath earlier in the day and wash her genitalia with soap and water. It’s best not to rely on wet wipes entirely for cleaning. [8] X Trustworthy Source MedlinePlus Collection of medical information sourced from the US National Library of Medicine Go to source To trigger your daughter to pee, give her lots of water or milk to drink after her bath. [9] X Research source So you’re not in a big rush to prepare, ask your daughter to tell you when she first feels the slight need to pee, not when the feeling has become urgent.
Be sure to lather between your fingers, underneath your fingernails, and all the way up past your wrists for at least 20 seconds. [12] X Research source In addition to soap and water, consider also cleaning your hands with some alcohol-based sanitizer. [13] X Research source Avoid touching anything, particularly your mouth or face, after you sanitize your hands and are about to clean your daughter. [14] X Research source
Take another antibacterial wet wipe and use it to clean within the skin folds off to one side of the meatus, then a third wipe to clean the skin folds on the opposite side. Use only one stroke, going from top to bottom (or towards the anus), with the wet wipes before discarding them. Don’t clean in a circular motion. Don’t wipe from bottom to top because you may introduce bacteria from the anus into the vaginal area.
When opening the collection cup, don’t contaminate it by touching the insides of the lid or container with your fingers, even if your think they are clean. Place the cup upside down on a clean paper towel while you’re waiting to collect the urine sample. If you don’t have a sanitized collection cup from your doctor, boil a small glass jar and lid for about 10 minutes. Allow the jar and lid to air dry in a clean place before using it. [19] X Trustworthy Source National Center for Home Food Preservation Publicly-funded center dedicated to educating consumers about research-backed safety practices for preserving food Go to source
If your daughter has any difficulty starting her stream, try turning on the water faucet to trigger her. Collecting urine midstream (after a second or two) is recommended because the first ounce or two help flush out any debris (dead cells, protein). Urine doesn’t keep very long at room temperature, so put it in the fridge immediately after collecting it. [21] X Trustworthy Source MedlinePlus Collection of medical information sourced from the US National Library of Medicine Go to source
If you’re collecting urine from your daughter at the doctor’s office, then simply give the sample to the nurse or assistant. If you’re at home and unable to go directly to the doctor’s office, then refrigerate the sample until you can go — don’t wait more than 24 hours, or else any bacteria in the sample will proliferate. [24] X Trustworthy Source National Health Service (UK) Public healthcare system of the UK Go to source
The special collection bag is a plastic bag with a sticky strip on one end, which is made to fit over your infant’s genital area, but underneath their diaper. [26] X Research source Urine infections are very difficult to diagnose from urine samples in a bag specimen because of the high risk of contamination. However, it can give your doctor a general idea of the genitourinary health of your child. [27] X Research source
Don’t use any baby powder after cleaning her, as it may contaminate the urine sample. [30] X Research source In the morning, before trying to collect urine, give your daughter a bath and wash her genitalia thoroughly with soap and water. After the bath, avoid overfeeding her before trying to collect a sample so she doesn’t poop in her diaper and increase the chances of bacterial contamination. Giving her lots of liquids after her bath will trigger her to pee sooner.
Remember to lather underneath your fingernails and all the way up past your wrists with the sanitizer. Apply a second squirt of sanitizer to your hands to be on the safe side, but don’t use it on your infant’s genitalia — it might irritate the skin, so stick with the antibacterial wet wipes.
Feel free to wear vinyl or latex sanitary gloves at this stage, although it’s not crucial. Wipe in only one direction, going from top to bottom (from the vagina to the anus), with the wipes before discarding them. Don’t clean in a circular motion. Wiping up from the anus may introduce bacteria into your infant’s vaginal area.
To prevent a mess, always place a clean diaper over the collection bag so there’s no leaking. Check your daughter every hour to see if she’s peed. You’ll need to open the diaper and then re-close it if she hasn’t An active infant can cause the bag to move around and become unstuck, so it may take multiple tries with multiple bags to collect a sample.
Prior to removing the collection bag, it’s a good idea to unscrew the the lid from the sterile collection cup and place it upside down on a clean paper towel. Do not touch the inside of the sterile cup or lid when transferring the urine from the collection bag.
