Can you still have a uti even if culture came back negative.
Posted , 50 users are following.
Hello,
So basically I've been suffering with bv, yeast infections and Uti's. I've had 3 different antibiotics for bv, and 2 for Uti's. During my last rounds of test everything came back negative, but the problem Is I still have symptoms. It burns when I pee and it smells bad. No frequency. But sometimes when I go pee only a little comes out and the pee is cloudy. My urologist wants to talk about the possibility Of having interstitial cystitis.i rather not have that because there is no cure. I also don't feel like I have that, but maybe I'm just in denial. My question is could I still have a uti even if the the cultures I got were negative? Could it maybe be a small uti? Is it possible. I just need hope I really don't want the other thing.
1 like, 93 replies
Micklemus cassie62685
Posted
I would not want to worry any one at all but there are some bacterial infections that can 'hide' in tissue. It
is necessary to research into which ones might be the culprits in each individuals infections. I have had an infection or more than one infection which can be concurrent and can effect for decades.
One of the virtually undetectable micro bacteria is TB (tuberculosis) which can affect anywhere in the human body. It is ongoing research as no doubt there is research into other organisms that infect the human. I found it unbelievable that several doctors do not accept that a male can infect his partner with bacteria! Visa versa for that matter. A very experienced A&E nurse who evaluates patients before they go to see a doctor puts the record straight and is common sense in my view! She said if that is the case how does a person get a sexually transmitted disease ? Good question and puts to shame any doctor who thinks otherwise......... Some doctors seem nuts! How on earth can they come to the ideas they have.......
No wonder they do not have a clue how to treat some patients who tell them that they feel (by their experience and know their bodies) that they have an infection. Many a practicioner will say things like' the problem might be self limiting'! so after many years of having the problem on and off I would say well it's taken it's time to self limit because ti's been getting worse on and off for decades now....!
All that and the ridiculous situation that I found that doctors DO NOT REFER TO PAST MEDICAL HISTORY.
Our Practice manager confirmed that crazy situation only a month ago.........
The medical profession state that 80% accuracy in a diagnosis is attributable to past history facts. So why on earth is it not obligatory for doctors to browse past medical history? Would it not be fair to say that past history may well give a clue to what is happening at the present time?
For me the important question should have been but was never researched was have you any symptoms
at all apart from calcifications to both lungs which confirmed a previous tubercular infection....
I know damn well that 'only' 10% of latent TB patients ever have the infection return but the 10% seems to be totally ignored for ever more.
danielle60316 cassie62685
Posted
Hi Cassie,
I realise this is a late response, and I hope that by now you are much better and your issues are sorted.
I've noticed a lot of people have been commenting stating that yes it is possible to have a culture come back negative and still have a UTI.
They are absolutely right. The most accurate response I personally believe was by Suzy.
An infection can still be there but an urine sample must grow a certain amount of bacteria from 24-48 hours to be classified as an infection.
You can quite easily have less than the diagnosis level of bacteria and still suffer from the horrible symptoms. Recently I've personally had this issue and my urologist and I are tossing up between Interstitial Cystitis and false negative urinary tract infections. To diagnose interstitial cystitis is a process of eliminating the possibility of any other disease that could be causing these symptoms. So far, I've had good results after taking a low-dose antibiotic after intercourse and have not copped any horrible symptoms since. Good, I really don't want interstitial cystitis!
SassyKJ danielle60316
Posted
justjoeRN cassie62685
Posted
A finding of "no growth" can be false, and is false a significant amount of the time. The most likely reason for a false finding of "no growth" in an attempt to culture a specimen is that the attempt was made using growth media that can support growth for ONLY the most commonly expected pathogens. If an infecting pathogen is actually present, but requires special growth conditions, and those conditions are not supplied to the specimen by the testing laboratory, the test will yield a FALSE finding of "no growth". When clinical assessment and symptoms indicate infection, and a urine sample appears grossly abnormal (cloudy, visible bacterial colonies, foul odor, dark color atypical for the patient), it is prudent to regard the patient as infected unless and until microscopy and further chemoanalysis is completed to detect pathogens not detectable with standard common culture attempts.