The urine is a clear or cloudy liquid that's made by the kidneys. It helps flush waste products out of the body via urination. Urinalysis is a test that checks for disease by examining the urine.
White blood cells are part of the body's immune system and defense against infection. The presence of WBCs in your urine means that your kidneys are releasing them into your urine as a means for fighting off an infection. They can be released into the urine from any part of your body where there is an infection or inflammation, including:
The white blood cells that are released into the urine are part of your immune system, an organ that protects you from foreign invaders. The number of white blood cells in your urine is an indicator of how severe your UTI is.
The standard reference range for WBCs (white blood cells) in urine is 0-5 per high power field (HPF), with 5 being the highest reading possible.
If you have a urinary tract infection (UTI) and experience symptoms like painful urination and frequent urination, it's very likely that your doctor will ask you about them by asking if you're experiencing dysuria or frequency.
The white blood cells are released into the urine, and testing can determine how many WBCs are present. The presence of WBCs in urine is typically a sign of infection or inflammation.
The amount of WBCs in urine is an important indicator of urinary tract and other infections. It can also indicate the severity of UTIs, as well as other infections, such as chlamydia or STDs.
If you have had a positive culture for an organism that does not usually cause UTIs (such as E. coli), your doctor may order a urinalysis to check for WBCs in your urine. If the test results show very few WBCs, this may indicate that your infection has cleared up by itself. However, if there are many white blood cells present and they appear to be moving around freely in your urine sample—a sign that they were not broken down during processing—this could mean that your infection is still active and needs further treatment.
You can get a UTI from the bacteria that naturally live in your vagina, but you can also get one from having sex with someone who has it.
If you have diabetes, or if you have undergone any surgery on the urinary tract such as a prostatectomy or cystectomy, your doctor may prescribe antibiotics to prevent UTIs.
In most cases of UTI, treatment is not necessary because they are highly treatable and resolve on their own without complications.
If you have UTI symptoms, it's important to tell your doctor about them. Even if a urinalysis doesn't show anything abnormal, they may still need to test for what's causing your symptoms.
Urinalysis is not the only test that can diagnose a UTI. Some doctors will use other tests, such as urine culture or microscopic urinalysis, to diagnose this condition. However, urinalysis is often used with other tests to help determine whether or not someone has a urinary tract infection and what kind of bacteria might be causing it. Additionally, urinalysis can help determine the severity of an existing infection; however this isn't always accurate because sometimes people with mild infections don't show any signs at all!
If you have symptoms of UTI, it's important to tell your doctor. Some people insist that they have a UTI even when their urinalysis shows no signs of infection. In this case, it's important to know that the urinalysis is not a perfect test and may not show up any infection. The number range for WBCs is very wide (0-15), so even if your sample has low numbers it could still indicate an infection. Also keep in mind that most labs report results as "negative" or "positive" rather than giving actual counts; this makes it difficult for patients to interpret their own results accurately. We recommend talking with a medical professional about your concerns and getting more information about what the lab results mean for your health situation
Normally, there aren't any white blood cells in your urine. However, if you have a urinary tract infection (UTI) or kidney disease, it's possible for white blood cells to make their way into your urine.
In healthy individuals, bacteria and other organisms don't usually grow in the kidneys. So when you have a UTI or kidney disease and get tested for white blood cells in your urine, it means that something is disturbing the normal balance of microbes in those organs.
If you have more than 3 to 5 WBCs in your urine, it could be a sign of infection. However, other factors besides infection can also cause a positive result.
Here are some of the possible causes:
If you have a kidney stone, it means that a piece of calcium has become lodged in your urinary tract. Kidney stones are generally composed of urine salts and minerals. The most common type is made up primarily of calcium oxalate, which forms when the chemical balance in your body becomes disrupted.
Kidney stones can range from the size of a grain of sand to as large as a golf ball. They can cause pain and bleeding in urine (hematuria), or blood in urine if left untreated.
A urinary tract infection (UTI) is an infection in any part of your urinary system -- kidneys, ureters, bladder and urethra. The term "urinary" means pertaining to urine. A UTI occurs when bacteria enters the urinary tract through the urethra and multiplies rapidly in the bladder or kidney.
Bacteria normally inhabit the gastrointestinal tract (the lower part of your digestive tract) and vagina but may sometimes enter the bladder or kidneys through a cut or by spreading from nearby skin infections or fecal matter on toilet seats.
Symptoms of UTI include:
Treatment for UTIs includes taking antibiotics prescribed by your doctor such as trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole (Bactrim), cephalexin (Keflex), levofloxacin (Levaquin), nitrofurantoin monohydrate (Macrobid).
If you have urinary tract symptoms and a urinalysis shows 3-5 WBCs, it's important to tell your doctor so they can test for what's causing your symptoms.