How do we get a urine sample from someone that wears pull ups?

There are devices that enable you to collect specimen. Should be available at any pharmacy. They fit on the person.

The plastic cup device that fits on top of the toilet can be purchased at a pharmacy.

Thanks for all your comments and suggestions.

The “upside hat” had been go to collection device for my Mom who has Alzheimer’s and is incontinent. The problem is always contamination from not getting a clean catch. My doctor works with a Home Health Care Agency that can send a nurse to Memory Care and collect urine sample via catheter. The important thing about UTI is to treat with the proper antibiotic as evidenced by pathology report. AND, to do follow-up catheter urine sample after antibiotics to make sure UTI gone.
My Mom had back to back UTIs throughout 2017 and after procedure outlined above, she has had no more! It is amazing and Mom’s health insurance paid for Home Health Care to collect specimen.
With multiple UTIs in 2017 her behavior was erratic, mean, and acting out. Completely different since no more UTIs.
Check your health insurance and see if nurse can come out and help with collecting sample via catheter.

Love those hats. Mom had to give a sample for a lab test. I asked if someone could help her. I was told it would have to be me. Told the tech I was not comfortable doing that. She handed me a hat. Makes it so easy and your pour right from it into the cup provided.


If ur wife has constant UTIs try cranberry pills. Because of the antibiotics Mom was put on a probiotic. I think having a catheter to get all the urine helped too. Someone also mentioned being allergic to the materials in the pull up. So changing manufactures may help.

The hats and lidded collection cups can be purchased at the drugstore. The aids here have a trick of using 2 hats. One faces forward the other backward. This solves the issue of poor aim and the urine going right into the toilet.

There is no guarantee that someone incontinent will urinate when placed on the toilet but my mom usually did, even though she did it without conscious thought the muscle memory is strong.

I'm not sure it is even possible to wring out a modern incontinence product unless it is completely overloaded - the gel technology just doesn't work that way.

As a last resort they can use a catheter to get a clean sample, but that doesn't help you to monitor at home.

Can't they get a reasonable sample from the Depends? Surely, it won't be that contaminated unless she has also had a BM.

I know, I would at least ask if it was possible - you have plenty of soiled Depends that are only fluids.

As BritishCarer mentioned above, there are disposable devices that sit under the toilet seat that are bowl-shaped and will catch the urine. The only issue is making sure nothing else (feces or toilet paper) ends up in there, which would contaminate the sample. These devices look like upside-down hats (and are often called 'hats' by medical staff). The only other option would be a catheter sample, which is distressing and uncomfortable for your wife in her condition.

We have a similar problem. I use a single use bowl, wash it and let it dry, float it on the toilet water, and sit my wife on the toilet every hour on the hour. If we are lucky, it happens at the first try. If not, it might take a couple days before we get the sample. Once we get the sample, we test it at home and use a lab provided bottle to take the sample to the lab. Contamination is a problem, but you do what you have to do and as best you can do it. Of course, a one-time catheter is another possibility, but it has its own problems and I have never used it. I hope we will never do.

Having a bowl that fits on top of the toilet seat or in a hole in a wheelchair is a possibility. On the toilet, she would not be aware of any difference, but you can then get the urine out easily after she leaves the toilet. Otherwise, I guess you wring out the diaper/nappy with gloves on.