White Blood Cells In Urine?

[maryg]

How long does the high white cells in the urine last with IC?

HEllo was wondering how long the high white count in the urine lasts. My Mom who is elderly has high white cell count in urine. Urine very cloudy and at times looks like milk. Also has recently tested positive for lactobacillus. Is this a common occurance in IC?
thanks




Hi Derrick,

I always have a very high amount of white blood cells in my urine but there is never any infection showing in the culture.

I have had blood tests but all seem to be normal. I also had a cysto but they couldnt see anything in my bladder either. However the hospital decided that I must have IC. I have now been transferred to a London hospital who seem to think the same. However when I take antibiotics all the symptoms of IC plus pain go away completely. It is all very strange.

Best wishes[/QUOTE]

[ICNDonna]

There are things other than infection that can make the urine cloudy. Is her urine being cultured? Most people don't pay any attention to the appearance of their urine, but when we have irritation like we have with IC, we tend to pay more attention --- and we see things we would never see otherwise. Does your mother have IC?

Donna

[maryg]

white blood cells in urine

Hi Donna,
Her doctor thinks she may have IC although I am not totally convinced because it seems odd that she would develop this at 87. Her urine actually looked like MILK and her blood sugars were higher so we thought she might have an infection given the higher blood sugars. We went into the Emergency room for this and I brought the urine with me to show the doctor. Her blood white cell count was not elevated.
Is it common for IC suffers to have that many white blood cells in their urine?? Yes her urine is being cultured and the culture from this ER visit has come back and is showing Lactobacillus - colony count 100 X 10~6/L
Is this a common finding in IC? Recomondation on the culture report if patient has a UTI is penicillins for example Ampicillin but SULFA nad CIPRO not recommended according to the culture report. No sensitivity was done this is just the recommendation made on the bottom of the culture report.

thanks,
mary

There are things other than infection that can make the urine cloudy. Is her urine being cultured? Most people don't pay any attention to the appearance of their urine, but when we have irritation like we have with IC, we tend to pay more attention --- and we see things we would never see otherwise. Does your mother have IC?

Donna

[Mothergoose]

I care for an elderly man, UTI's are very common in elderly people. In my expirence they tend not to drink enough water to keep urine dilute enough, straw colored.

Sometimes people with IC will shed the lining of their bladders, and it looks like white white flakes in the urine, this is not WBC or an infection.

Labs often know which antibiotics will or won't work for a certain bacteria from experience, and don't do a sensitivity test. The test takes time and with elderly they can get very sick from a UTI very fast, so should be treated sooner rather than later, for one.

Good Luck MG

[maryg]

white blood cells in urine

I care for an elderly man, UTI's are very common in elderly people. In my expirence they tend not to drink enough water to keep urine dilute enough, straw colored.

Sometimes people with IC will shed the lining of their bladders, and it looks like white white flakes in the urine, this is not WBC or an infection.

Labs often know which antibiotics will or won't work for a certain bacteria from experience, and don't do a sensitivity test. The test takes time and with elderly they can get very sick from a UTI very fast, so should be treated sooner rather than later, for one.

Good Luck MG

Mom is drinking. the urine test confirms that she has a lot of white blood cells. To the group. Do you think it is possible she has an organism not yet identified with standard cultures. The reason I ask is because in the past when she was treated with a second generation cephlosporin her urine would clear right up. Now that she has ESBL this drug no longer works so this is why she has had such trouble with this infection. She is on fosfomycin which I think keeps any ecoli etc at bay but is it possible there is something else that is causing the wbc besides lactobacilli adn also does the fact that she has an estrogen ring vaginally contribute to the lactobacillis growth in her bladder? thanks.......

[Mothergoose]

some people believe IC is caused from a yet to be found bacteria.

some people do better on a daily low dose antibiotic to keep uti's at bay.

also if you have used the same antibiotic a few times the bacteria can become resistant to it, so it wont kill it all off, the person my feel better only to get sick again fairly quickly or not to get over the uti completely.

it very tricky waters to be in and lots of drs believe different things.

i have found it really helps to always see the same dr.

good luck MG

[UK2004]

Re: White Blood Cells In Urine?

Interesting reading this how many people think that if they have WBC's in urine but the culture doesn't grow anything then there is no infection. Even the most incompetent urologists admit that the temperature and conditions and culture are grown in are nothing like a warm bladder and consequently often infections won't show. Just because the culture doesn't grow anything does not mean there is definitely not infection.

[maryg]

Re: White Blood Cells In Urine?

Interesting reading this how many people think that if they have WBC's in urine but the culture doesn't grow anything then there is no infection. Even the most incompetent urologists admit that the temperature and conditions and culture are grown in are nothing like a warm bladder and consequently often infections won't show. Just because the culture doesn't grow anything does not mean there is definitely not infection.

Thanks everyone for your help with this. Mom's urine remains cloudy and we are not treating her with antibiotics. At times she complains of burning in her bladder before she urinates and when she urinates the pain disappears. Sometimes she has symptoms of frequency but right now even though urine cloudy, she does not have any symptoms. Thank goodness. Last year in May the urologist let me stay in the room with Mom when she had her cystoscopy and her bladder looked like it was sunburned and the skin was peeling off. The lining was coming away from the wall of the bladder as the doctor flushed the bladder with saline and after that procedure she was much better.

[wcrox]

Re: White Blood Cells In Urine?

Blood in my urine was actually the only reason my doctors thought to test me for IC. I have had it constantly for the past year during every urine test. My GP just thought it was super weird and couldn't figure it out, but I when I saw my gyno, she thought of IC immediately.