Smear from the urethra: how and why is it taken?

A smear from the urethra is one of the mandatory components of a urological examination. The purpose of taking a smear is to detect pathogens in the urinary tract, which are the causative agents of many unpleasant and dangerous diseases. Also, this manipulation with certain inflammatory diseases (for example, with cystitis) can allow you to choose the most effective medicine for a particular case.

Despite the need for such a procedure, many are afraid of it. Often - because of ignorance of its essence. What is a smear from the urethra? Is it painful? These questions are often heard in the office of the urologist. So why not learn about the upcoming procedure in advance to go for analysis without any fear?

So, let's talk about taking a smear more. This procedure takes very little time, so suffer infernal agony for several hours the patient in any case will not have to. As can be understood by name, a smear from the urethra is taken from the urethra. The urologist inserts a special probe or a spoon of Volkmann into the depth of two to three centimeters and makes a scraping from one of the walls of the canal. Of course, this procedure can be very unpleasant for the patient and even painful, but the discomfort will quickly pass. A smear from the urethra in men and women is taken exactly the same way.

After taking the smear, the doctor places it on a slide and examines it under a microscope. As a rule, to facilitate the study, it is stained with special dyes.

A smear from the urethra carries a large amount of valuable information that can help the doctor to identify at an early stage such diseases as prostatitis, cystitis, urethritis, trichomoniasis, gonorrhea, ureaplasmosis, chlamydia, infections caused by candida, gonococcus and Trichomonas, as well as a violation of the microflora of the vagina .

Like any other analysis, a smear from the urethra has its normal indices. So, in norm it can contain leukocytes (up to five in the field of vision ), epithelial cells (from five to ten), mucus (in a small amount), and cocci (single), red blood cells (up to two). But bacteria, gonococci, key cells, trichomonads, candida, spermatozoa and lipoid bodies should be absent.

To give a smear from the urethra for analysis is recommended regularly, during preventive examinations, however, there are situations when it is desirable to do the analysis immediately. So, it is not recommended to wait for a general examination when planning a pregnancy or at its beginning. In addition, you should immediately go to the doctor for pain and discomfort during urination and intercourse, as well as frequent urination and discharge from the urethra.

It should be borne in mind that before the delivery of a smear from the urethra, it is necessary to stop taking medications for one to two weeks (if this is not possible, it is desirable to refuse at least antibiotics or postpone the delivery of the analysis). The day before the examination you need to refrain from sexual intercourse, and for 2-3 hours it is advisable not to urinate.

To go on this analysis is best in the morning, the day before the genitals need to be washed. If the patient does not tolerate painful procedures, he needs to warn the doctor about it - then the smear will be taken in a horizontal position.