Before Beginning Your 24-Hour Urine Test

• Your doctor (or laboratory technician) will give you an appropriate container to collect your urine. For men, this will be a urinal. For women it will be a "hat" which rests inside the toilet bowl. You will also receive a storage container for your urine and a tag. Be sure your container is properly labeled with any necessary information (usually your name and possibly your doctor's name). Some patients will need two storage containers (if you output a large volume of urine and for certain tests that require it).
  
  Remember you are going to need to keep your storage container refrigerated for the 24-hour time frame. If you do not have a refrigerator, you should arrange to have a cooler or some sort of storage on ice.
  
  

Getting Started

• Starting your 24-hour test is as easy as urinating. The first time you urinate, do NOT collect and save the urine. Every time you urinate thereafter should be collected and transferred to your storage container. Each time you urinate, note the time and date on your storage container and return the container to the refrigerator. If you are using two containers, fill one completely and then use the next container.
  
  

Ending Your Test

• Precisely 24-hours after starting the urine-collection test, you should urinate one more time. Transfer the urine to your storage container. You should note the time and date that your test ended on the storage container and bring the urine to your doctor/laboratory as soon as possible. Be sure to tightly cap the containers to prevent leakage.
  
  If you are traveling a distance to your healthcare provider, you should use a cooler with ice in it to store your urine.
  
  If you are performing the test as an inpatient in the hospital, the staff will give you specific instructions on where to store the container, when to get started and when to end the test.
  
  

Understanding Your Results

• The average range of urine output ranges from 800 to 2000 mL each day. This can differ slightly in accordance with your healthcare provider's guidelines, so be sure to talk to your doctor about what to expect.
  
  Abnormal test results can indicate a variety of conditions.
  Having an abnormally low urine output may indicate that you are not taking in enough fluids, that you are dehydrated or that you may have some kidney problems.
  Having abnormally high urine output could indicate that you take in a lot of fluids or that you use diuretics. It may also indicate conditions like diabetes, kidney disease and kidney failure.