A urinary tract infection (UTI) affects your urinary tract. That’s the system through which your body gets rid of waste and extra water.
UTIs are most often caused by bacteria, but they can also be brought on by fungi, or viruses. Normally, your body gets rid of these germs before they cause a problem. But if the germs win, you can get a painful UTI.
If you’ve ever had one, you know the telltale signs: an intense urge to pee, having to pee more often, peeing very little when you go, and a burning sensation while you pee. If you think you have a UTI, see your doctor. They’ll find out whether your symptoms are caused by that or something else. A home test can help you find out faster.
How Do They Work?
You can buy over-the-counter UTI dipstick tests at your local pharmacy or online. They work much like a pregnancy test: Each kit comes with a testing strip (usually three to a kit). You wet a test strip by holding it in your pee stream for a few seconds. Or you can collect pee in a clean cup and dip the strip into the sample. Wait one to two minutes for the color of the test strip to change. This will vary depending on the brand you use.
The test looks for two things: leukocyte esterase and nitrite.
If your test finds leukocyte esterase, this means there are white blood cells in your pee. This usually happens when there’s an infection. This test catches 80-92 out of 100 UTIs, but it might still miss some cases.
If your test finds nitrite, it means the bacteria that cause UTIs turned nitrate in your pee into nitrite. This could mean you have a UTI. This test is pretty good at finding the bacteria (it finds them 96-99 out of 100 times). But it won't catch all types of infections.
Home test kits might be useful if you have UTIs that keep coming back. But the results can be affected by a number of things, like medications you’re taking. And studies show that urine cultures are far more reliable for showing whether you have a UTI.
The bottom line: See your doctor to be sure, no matter what your UTI home test reveals. A home test can give you an idea if you have a UTI, but it can't diagnose you.