Bladder Infection Diagnosis

Medically reviewed by:

Dr Dan Bunstone - Medical Officer

Updated: Aug 18, 2021

Next review: Aug 18, 2022

If the doctor suspects you have a bladder infection, they may sometimes be able to prescribe medication straight away. If they think your symptoms might be a different condition, you may need tests to rule these out.

During your consultation with Push Doctor, our online doctors will ask you questions to assess whether or not you might have a bladder infection.

They will ask about your symptoms and how long you have had them. Bladder infections have a number of common causes so they will also ask questions to rule these out and find out what caused your infection.

Analysing your urine will provide the doctor with all the information they need to either rule out a bladder infection or prescribe the most effective treatment.

A urine culture test will reveal what sort of bacteria (if any) is present in your bladder. This will help the doctor decide which antibiotic should be prescribed for your infection.

If you have had your symptoms for a while, a urinalysis will also indicate if there is any blood in your urine. While this is sometimes visible when you go to the toilet, in some cases the droplets are too small to be seen by the naked eye.

It’s important to know if you have blood in your urine, as it may suggest a more serious health problem, such as a kidney infection, that our doctors can test for and treat.

In order to make sure your sample isn’t contaminated and the results of your test are accurate, it’s important to tell your doctor about any other medication or supplements that you’re taking.

It can also help to drink plenty of water in the lead up to your test, so that you can provide the sample as soon as it’s needed.

Bladder Infection Diagnosis

Dr Dan Bunstone - Medical Officer

How is a bladder infection diagnosed?

Providing a urine sample

Before you provide your urine sample