Urinalysis
Checks urine color, concentration, and common chemistry and blood-cell clues in one sample. Screens for infection, kidney stress, and sugar showing up in urine.
A urinalysis inspects your urine by appearance, chemistry dipstick, and sometimes microscope. It screens for blood, protein, sugar, signs of infection, and clues to kidney or metabolic stress. Doctors order it for routine checkups, bladder symptoms, diabetes follow-up, and anytime a kidney story is brewing. MedlinePlus reminds that food dyes, supplements, and some medicines can tint urine without disease; the lab still compares chemistry and microscopy to the big picture.
Self-Pay Price Comparison
| Provider | Price | vs. Highest | Order |
|---|---|---|---|
Quest QuestHealth self-pay | $40.00 | Save $9.00 | Order · Quest |
LabCorp Labcorp OnDemand | $49.00 | Highest | Order · LabCorp |
GoodLabs Discount lab network | $4.00Best value | Best price | Order · GoodLabs |
What This Test Measures
Routine urinalysis pairs a visual check with a multipoint dipstick; microscopy may follow when ordered. Here are the eight strip lines people ask about first:
Dipstick check for albumin leaking into urine; positive traces kidney filter stress, fever, dehydration, or benign post-exercise spillage, negative is the usual resting strip when the sample is not wildly dilute.
Sugar on the strip; positive means blood glucose climbed high enough to spill into urine or the kidney threshold shifted, negative is expected when blood sugar is controlled and the strip is fresh.
Breakdown acids from fat metabolism; positive shows up with fasting, very low carb intake, or sick-day diabetes when fat burns fast, negative is usual on a mixed diet when you feel well.
Detects hemoglobin from red cells in urine; positive flags stones, infection, menstrual contamination, or kidney and bladder bleeding sources, negative is typical on a clean midstream catch without those triggers.
Signals that certain bacteria converted urinary nitrate; positive strongly suggests bacteria are present, negative never clears infection because many bugs never make nitrite.
Enzyme released from white blood cells; positive points to urinary inflammation or infection, negative lowers the odds of active infection though microscopy still settles borderline strips.
Measures how concentrated the urine is; high follows dehydration or very concentrated voids, low follows over-hydration or kidneys that struggle to concentrate the filtrate.
How acidic or alkaline the urine is; very high or very low readings can reflect diet, some infections, or renal acid-base handling, mid-range is common on a random catch.
How to Read Your Results
Dipstick positives need symptoms, repeat testing, and sometimes microscopy. Here is what the three bundled explanation rows cover:
| Marker | Normal Range | If Flagged | What It Might Mean |
|---|---|---|---|
| Urinalysis (chemistry screen) | MedlinePlus Medical Encyclopedia (Urinalysis): usually glucose, ketones, protein, and bilirubin are not detectable in urine. | abnormal | A positive dipstick needs context; exercise, dehydration, menses, or recent sex can create false positives for blood or protein. One strip in isolation rarely tells the full story. |
| Urinalysis (cells and nitrites) | MedlinePlus Medical Encyclopedia: hemoglobin, nitrites, red blood cells, and white blood cells are not normally found in urine. | abnormal | Those flags often point toward infection, kidney inflammation, or bleeding sources, but contamination or sample handling can also skew results; repeat or culture confirms when needed. |
| Urinalysis (appearance) | MedlinePlus Medical Encyclopedia: normal urine varies in color from almost colorless to dark yellow; some foods such as beets and blackberries may turn urine red. | abnormal | Color alone is not enough; cloudy urine can be harmless crystals or infection. Your doctor reads appearance next to dipstick and symptoms. |
When to Order
Annual baseline
Many adult checkups still include a urinalysis as a cheap screen for kidney stress, infection, or hidden blood.
Burning urination, urgency, fever, or flank pain
Classic urinary tract infection clues; leukocyte esterase, nitrites, and blood flags on the strip often prompt culture or treatment.
Diabetes follow-up or new thirst and frequent urination
Glucose or ketones on a dipstick can reflect high blood sugar or ketosis; your doctor pairs it with blood tests.
Swelling, high blood pressure, or known kidney disease
Protein and blood on urinalysis help monitor kidney filters over time alongside creatinine and blood pressure.
Visible blood in urine or recent kidney stone symptoms
The strip and microscope hunt for red cells and crystals that explain pain or persistent bleeding.
Prep & Logistics
- Fasting
- Typically no fasting
- Sample
- Urine sample
- Results
- Often same day for dipstick; microscopy or culture add time depending on the lab.
- Referral
- Often self-order (check local rules)
- Markers
- Color, clarity, specific gravity, pH, protein, glucose, ketones, bilirubin, blood, nitrite, leukocyte esterase, and microscopy when ordered (see biomarkers list).
Tests That Pair With This One
Serum kidney and metabolic labs when dipstick shows glucose, protein, or blood and organs need context.
Quantitative albumin-to-creatinine ratio when trace protein or diabetes needs a firmer kidney read than the strip alone.
FAQ
Dipstick only—do I still need a culture if it shows leukocytes?
Sometimes. A positive strip can mean infection, contamination, or stones. Your clinician may order a reflex culture, repeat a clean sample, or pair with symptoms—not every trace finding needs antibiotics.
My urine showed trace blood. Is that an emergency?
Often not. Hard training, menses, kidney stones, and benign prostate issues can add blood. MedlinePlus notes abnormal results can mean many illnesses; your doctor usually repeats the test or adds microscopy before sounding alarms.
Why does the lab want a clean-catch sample?
Skin bacteria and skin cells contaminate the cup if the stream starts too early. A midstream clean catch keeps the strip and culture from crying wolf.
Will my vitamins change the color?
Yes. MedlinePlus lists medicines and supplements that tint urine even without disease. Tell the lab what you take so they do not over-read color alone.
Sources
Prices pulled directly from provider websites and verified by hand. Reference ranges sourced from MedlinePlus. Not generated by AI.
- GoodLabs - product page (pricing context)(verified 2026-03-23)
- Quest - consumer lab shop (pricing context)(verified 2026-03-23)
- LabCorp OnDemand - urine analysis (pricing context)(verified 2026-03-23)
- MedlinePlus Medical Encyclopedia - Urinalysis (normal chemistry and microscopy expectations)
- Clinical context: LabRecon editorial team. Not medical advice. For informational use only.
Dipstick and/or microscopic urinalysis. Screens for proteinuria, hematuria, glucosuria, ketonuria, nitrites, leukocyte esterase, and urinary casts.
Ordering note
Phase 3 backlog: optional MedlinePlus UA lab-test overview URL to pair with encyclopedia source. Recon Snapshot uses eight cards; flat biomarkers still list color, appearance, bilirubin for parity with reports.