mo33

Have posted a thread on the Aussie forum about my having haematuria but just wondering if there were any fellow nurses out there who could advise.

Basically, i've been dipsticking my urine for weeks now and it always shows blood. I've taken a course of antibiotics, no pain, no other symptoms whatsoever!! I'm thinking of taking a sample of urine to GP for testing on Monday.....dunno what to do really. Have immi meds coming up in March.

Any advice would be great, thanks
Mo

cheekymoo

Hi Mo,
I had asymptomatic haematuria and was only discovered at the medical. I was advised to drink lots of fluid for 3 days to dilute the heamaturia just before she tested another sample. Fortunately this worked and I passed the medical. Sometimes the multistix are oversensitive! It also depends on how much blood is showing eg. traces throught to large amounts. If it was a trace then I would drink lots of water, if it was more then I would want it investigated before coming to Australia.

Yoong

My cousin has the same problem with haematuria and she took lots of
Vit C prior to dipstick test.
Worth a try.
Yoong

destinationnovascotia

You should go to your GP and get a sample set to the lab. This should have been done already if you have taken antibiotics.

You should not be depending on on-line advice on a potential medical condition from people you have never met and have no idea of their skills and expertise.

It is probably nothing but you should be sure. Especially if you don't have to hold things up with you medical.

why

i agree go and see GP before anything, you just can't be too sure...best get checked out..it probably isn't anything but you don't know that at this point
good luck

kitty4

Why have you been testing your own urine? Why/where did you purchase the strips. Where did the antibiotics come from?
As a practice nurse in a previous life - this was a huge area of practice for us (diagnosing and treating urine infections and referring abnormal results for further investigation that were not infections).
I and the GP's would not prescribe antibiotics without having first tested the urine ourselves and sent it for culture and most importantly obtained an assessment/history from you.
Blood in the urine alone does not denote infection necessarily. A trace here or there should be followed up, but if it is more than that or ongoing, there could be other pathology to consider so see you GP or practice nurse - chances are the tests you have purchased may not be accurate - another consideration - many self monitoring/diagnostic equipment for sale to the public does not undergo the rigorous testing and certification compared to that used by professionals. Self diagnoses and treatment is not an option at this stage in my opinion. May be you are fine - but you obviously need to put your mind at rest.
This is not meant to be professional advice - just an opinion from another public forum member. It has arisen many times in the past on this forum - that people have found to have haematuria when they attend medicals - they then have to repeat the urine tests - so go and get yourself checked out before your medicals by your doctor. If all is fine - fantastic - if there is anything to be treated - you will not have the ongoing worry and importantly - will get the appropriate treatment.

Yoong

After reading up on VitC and haematuria,there might be a possibility
of giving you false negative reading of haematuria on the dipstick.
When in fact you are actually bleeding.

My apology to you, I do not think it is right of me to suggest a
way of masking the problem which gives you false security.
Please see a doctor for your haematuria.

Yoong

cheekymoo

Ohhh, pardon me for trying to help. I am offended by your comments. Perhalps you feel unequipped to deal with an online enquiry, nurse.

I can confirm that I am more than qualified to advise in this case. Believe it or not, I teach e-triage to nurses, which is the way that healthcare is moving forward at a great pace.
Advice can be taken or left - there is always a choice.

Silverdragon102

much better to get it checked out via GP than depend on online advice. Many things could be causing the problem there again I have known a lot of cases where no cause was every found. Much better to be safer than sorry

hollykimalan

I am also kind of offended by these comments. Working as an independent nurse within A/E we frequently deal this kind of stuff. Without having to refer to GP's or Labs.
Perhaps her comments are more reflective of her own clinical competence than that of both the original poster and those who choose to give 'advice'.
Further more as it was an exchange between two nurses the varsity of both
symptoms and advice would and should be viewed as such:- A discourse between two professionals, albeit on a public forum.
Another manifestation of an nursing profession being riddled with insecurity...
Ahem....
HKA
x

cheekymoo

That fair comment HKA, thank you.

mo33

Thank you all for your replies and advice......just to re-iterate, advice & reasurrance was what i was looking for! Of course, i don't depend on public forums to provide a miracle cure neither do i depend on peoples views whom i have never met!

A question was asked (I've learnt my lesson by the way) won't bother in future! As for where/why - did you get the dipsticks, why are you testing your urine? Have you never taken your BP whilst on a shift?? Forewarned is forarmed.....anyway, genuine thanks to all for your help.
Guess where i'm off to tomorrow? Hopefully all will be ok!!
Take care everyone
Mo

cheekymoo

Hi Mo,
Sorry that your request for assistance has had such a negative impact on you. As a fellow professional, I applaud you for making use of your knowlege, skills and equipment to look after yourself. I'm a nurse and I bought Multistix over the counter with no problem, why, I was making sure that I didnt have haeamaturia when I fronted up to the immi doctor for the second time. What you did, in my opinion was be proactive about your health - good on you!
I'm sure that everything will be ok at your GP tommorow.

p.s.
To protect your anonymity I often direct my colleagues and patients to
NHS 24 and NHS Direct either helpline or information service as its generally safer for advice than googling it.

mo33

Hi cheekymoo! love that name!

You live and learn eh? Another one - too much knowledge!

I've spoken privately to someone who was in the same boat as me and immi doc sent her for cystoscopy & Ultrasound scan. That's all i was after really, a bit of info that might enlighten me prior to going for immi meds.

Shame its turned into this, I've given lots of advice on this forum (where qualified to do so). Anyway, off to do the ironing!

Mo

cheekymoo

Thats very true Mo. I was trying to avoid mentioning referal to a urologist for cystoscopy and scans etc as the immi doctor may want to wait for the specialist report that says you had some mild and transient heamaturia of unknown origin. This would have added to your anxiety level and lenghtened your wait for your visa. If you had shared some other symptoms, multiple occurances or a strong family history then I would have pointed you in the direction of your GP.
I know that you will be fine, I'm sure lots of us go about our daily business with some haematuria at some time and are blissfully ignorant. You were just unfortunate enough to uncover it and need to follow up for peace of mind.
Please dont let some on here who 'open mouth before engaging brain' prevent you from offering or indeed asking for advice on this forum. As you say Mo, live and learn.