Two months ago, I started working a med tech job at a clinical laboratory. I trained on the urine bench. I like my job. I find microbiology to be fascinating...and gross...at the same time.
The urine bench is where urine cultures are processed. Patients provide a urine sample (pee in a cup) to their healthcare provider. A quick, dip-stick test can detect the presence of bacteria in the urine sample. If bacteria are present, the urine can be plated for further testing. Plating consists of streaking the urine onto a petri dish that contains the agar that nourishes the bacteria and encourages its growth. The plates are incubated at body temperature for a day, giving the bacteria time to grow.
My job is the next part of the process. I receive urine culture plates and have to screen them for growth. I report if there is no growth at all. I report if the growth on the plate looks like normal flora....the normal bacteria found in the human body, which is typically in low levels and balanced proportions. I report if the plate is contaminated with many different organisms...which is typically caused by not following the collection procedures for a "clean catch." I report the quantity and description of any bacteria I see growing on the plate.
It is important to identify the bacteria that is invading a person's urinary tract, and to also determine which antibiotics will treat it. Thankfully, there is a big, fancy machine that does that part. My job is to set up some colonies, from a pure culture of bacteria, into a tube of broth for the machine to use. When the machine has completed its task, I then double check its work and finalize the report.
It did not take me long to realize that one-third of my job duties can be eliminated by better hygiene practices on the part of the public at large.
So, I would like to make this Public Service Announcement:
It may sound silly, but it is really important. Let's be careful to teach this to our daughters, so that they will follow this instruction too.
One of the most "popular" bacteria growing on the urine culture plates is E. coli (Escherichia coli). E. coli is a common bacteria in our digestive tracts. It is found in feces.
Wiping from back to front brings fecal material toward the opening of the urinary tract. So, it is easy for the bacteria to get into the tract, set up shop, and go to work causing painful infection.
Always wipe from a cleaner area toward a dirtier area.
So, wipe from urinary opening toward fecal opening (vagina toward anus).
Such a simple, hygiene practice would greatly reduce the number of bacterial infections in the urinary tract.
The urine bench is where urine cultures are processed. Patients provide a urine sample (pee in a cup) to their healthcare provider. A quick, dip-stick test can detect the presence of bacteria in the urine sample. If bacteria are present, the urine can be plated for further testing. Plating consists of streaking the urine onto a petri dish that contains the agar that nourishes the bacteria and encourages its growth. The plates are incubated at body temperature for a day, giving the bacteria time to grow.
My job is the next part of the process. I receive urine culture plates and have to screen them for growth. I report if there is no growth at all. I report if the growth on the plate looks like normal flora....the normal bacteria found in the human body, which is typically in low levels and balanced proportions. I report if the plate is contaminated with many different organisms...which is typically caused by not following the collection procedures for a "clean catch." I report the quantity and description of any bacteria I see growing on the plate.
It is important to identify the bacteria that is invading a person's urinary tract, and to also determine which antibiotics will treat it. Thankfully, there is a big, fancy machine that does that part. My job is to set up some colonies, from a pure culture of bacteria, into a tube of broth for the machine to use. When the machine has completed its task, I then double check its work and finalize the report.
It did not take me long to realize that one-third of my job duties can be eliminated by better hygiene practices on the part of the public at large.
So, I would like to make this Public Service Announcement:
Ladies, please wipe from front to back!
It may sound silly, but it is really important. Let's be careful to teach this to our daughters, so that they will follow this instruction too.
One of the most "popular" bacteria growing on the urine culture plates is E. coli (Escherichia coli). E. coli is a common bacteria in our digestive tracts. It is found in feces.
Wiping from back to front brings fecal material toward the opening of the urinary tract. So, it is easy for the bacteria to get into the tract, set up shop, and go to work causing painful infection.
Always wipe from a cleaner area toward a dirtier area.
So, wipe from urinary opening toward fecal opening (vagina toward anus).
Such a simple, hygiene practice would greatly reduce the number of bacterial infections in the urinary tract.
*These images of E. coli growing on petri dish plates were borrowed via the internet from:
Wikipedia and Scienceprofonline.
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