Urine specimens

When you go to your GP's just ask for a few extra bottles. They no longer send them out because of the cost of postage etc. It's always a good idea to have some in the medicine cabinet in case of UTI's etc. They are sterile so it's better to use them than a container of your own that may be contaminated.

Tablets in boxes were down to EC regulations, I think [because of having to have instructions with them]. And again cross contamination if you've been dispensing different tablets throughout the day.

..terrible waste of paper, cardboard etc though. I always used to get people to return their bottles for a refill.

You can buy them from the chemist for about 40p or so I discovered while I was continually having what I thought were utis.

I once took a sample to the gp in a mustard jar that I had put through the dishwasher for just such an occasion and she said she was worried about the look of it! She dipsticked and hauled out a bit of mustard jar label! Luckily she was a friend and we both just dissolved laughing!

Beware of jam jars (if not thoroughly cleaned you may be told you have diabetes) and lemonade bottles (far too much!) I've seen both when Practice Nurse

This was quite a frivolous post but it's produced some very helpful answers - thank you!

Boots gave me one without charge.

....however, I do think they were designed by a man for men! But they have to be the right height to put the dipstick in.

I remember going to an antenatal visit 40 years ago and one lady produced her sample in a large pickled onion jar. She had filled it too !. The nurse who was in receipt of our samples was a very small Irish lady (who scared us all but had a heart of gold). She asked the poor patient what she expected it was all needed for. I don't remember if there was a reply.

Long ago, when I was expecting, I used to take my sample in a well washed out Marmite jar. It was nice and wide for ease of collecting.

My own GP's surgery still give them out for free, but some surgeries are now charging for them. I always have a supply as it's something I require quite often, but then I also have my own supply of Multistix too and so I usually test my own urine.

My Dad was a GP. In those days of yore we lived at the Surgery /the surgery was in our house. We became used to the doorbell going and a wide variety of containers being handed in. Tobacco tins seemed to be favoured for faecal samples. Nice warm tins being passed to us. Lovely. Sorry everyone, memory lane has a lot to answer for!

A friend of mine put her sample into an empty whisky bottle; well washed of course and one of those small flat-sided ones.

She went to the anti-natal class by taxi and must have left it on the back seat by mistake when she was getting her purse out to pay the driver.

She often wondered what happened to it!

Same here! My father always wondered how ladies got their specimens of urine into tiny perfume bottles.
One problem was patients using bottles that had contained sweet drinks. They always tested positive for sugar!

I used to wee into a yogurt pot or similarly wode open bendy container. Then it was easy to pour into a small mouthed urine tube. This method never caused a problem; I'm a thorough washer upper and rinser.

wide

And yes, I would just ask for urine bottles at your GP practice.