# Leukocytes on urinalysis strip



## aja-belly (Oct 7, 2004)

on my dip stick saturday the leukocytes was as dark as it goes (i think it said 500+ - a dark purple in color). my midwife said i was probably fighting off a cold or something and didn't seem worried.

is this something i should be concerned about? it seems like if it wasn't anything significant - why is it tested for?

the protein was also slightly green, but low on the scale. i have never had anything abnormal on my strips before (i'm 35 weeks) so i was just kinda alarmed to look at this rainbow stip when it always looks the same. lol she said this could be from dehydration, but i was definately NOT dehydrated - i drink about a gallon a day.

any input?


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## AllyRae (Dec 10, 2003)

Both times I've had this, they've had to send the sample in for analysis. They said it could potentially be a UTI...in both cases it turns out that the specimen was just contaminated with normal pregnancy discharge, and everything was a-ok. So, maybe that's what it is...

Leukocytes are white blood cells I believe...they can indicate an infection, leukemia (you need 10,000 above normal I believe for that...and I think that's only found in a blood test), or just the discharge if they didn't have you wipe with the little wet wipe before you went.


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## aja-belly (Oct 7, 2004)

well, there's a good chance it's from discharge then. i've had so much discharge this whole pregnancy.

aja


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## MamaFae (Sep 24, 2004)

Mine have been consistantly high through out my pregnancy, and after many urinalisys and such which are never positive we (MW an I) finally decided it was due to my high Vit C intake. Nothing to worry about and no need to do anything to change it.

Anything over 1000mg of Vit C can elevate your Leukicyte (SP?) lvls.

HTH!
N~


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## Pepper (Jan 25, 2004)

Interesting about the vitamin C!

I had + / ++ leukocytes two visits in a row and have been battling pneumonia for months but my mw said that it wouldn't affect the urinalysis. She said that it only indicated an infection in the urinary tract or bladder....high white blood cells for other infections such as a cold would only show up in blood tests, not on a urine strip.

It could very well be due to discharge but as someone who developed a really bad UTI in my 1st pregnancy that lead to ptl and eventually an early delivery, I'd do a urinalysis to rule it out. The darkest purple (+++) would scare me--better safe than sorry.


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## orangebird (Jun 30, 2002)

I always have leukocytes on my urine strips during pg. It could be nothing. My midwife ignores it. She says it is really common and I have never had any infection that I know of. No problems with any of my pregnancies or births either. It is usually a small amount, and I usually have alot of discharge which is probably contaminating it. I don't clean first so I am pretty sure in my case it is vag secretions contamination. ( I take vitamin C too, so who knows if that is part of it too) It can signal infection but definitely not necessarily. Have you tried a clean catch urine sample for the test? Maybe that would help clarify it for you.


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## Mama Lori (Mar 11, 2002)

There was one prenatal visit where I had high leukocytes on my pee stick, and a trace of blood. My midwife had me get a urine culture just to rule out a UTI. It came back negative. But it turned out I did have a mild yeast infection. Leukocytes can indicate yeast, so you might want to ask your midwife to check for that.


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## pamamidwife (May 7, 2003)

leukocytes are white blood cells, found in normal vaginal discharge. pregnant women are more juicy, so there's more discharge. if you've had intercourse recently, too, this will bring up high leukocytes.

I wouldn't rely on leukocytes for signs of infection. I look at nitrites (a by product of bacteria feeding) and occult blood instead.

Leukocytes are common, too common to consider for anything, IMHO. (another reason why I don't urine dip routinely)

Trace protein is almost always related to dehydration. Your pee should be almost clear. Yellow pee is a sign that you're not drinking enough.


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## aja-belly (Oct 7, 2004)

thanks for the responses ladies! i am feeling better about it now. lol

pam - i always hope you will respond to my questions. lol you are always reassuring and so knowledgable!

aja


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## pamamidwife (May 7, 2003)

, Aja...thank you.


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## NightOwl (Sep 12, 2004)

I had the same exact thing on my urine strip today. My midwife didn't seem concerned. We figured out that the leukocytes is probably from allergies. But she didn't say anything about the trace of protein.


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## mwherbs (Oct 24, 2004)

here is a web address you can read about false positives

http://www.ohsu.edu/pathology/POC/pr...rinalysis.html


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