# How much pee to pee when a doctor says "pee in this cup"? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [May 19, 2010, 10:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-pee-to-pee-when-a-doctor-says-pee-in-this-cup/540062 "2010-05-19T22:22:01Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Leo\_Bloom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leo_bloom/32/10377_2.png) [@Leo\_Bloom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leo_Bloom)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2010, 10:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-pee-to-pee-when-a-doctor-says-pee-in-this-cup/540062/1 "2010-05-19T22:22:01Z")
Sometimes you panic with a dribble, and then it practically overflows. Sometimes you actually can only produce a dribble, and then you think he’ll hate you for ruining his lab kickbacks and wasting his time. How much pee do they need for a “regular” lab test (I don’t know what doctors do with pee, anyway, let me say right out). Dip a test strip into it? Gas chromatography? Something tells me he needs only a teeny amount of pee and I make it a triple, simply to show I can. Are there and MDs or lab techs who can help me out? ---
**Author:** ![XanderCrews](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/ee59a6/32.png) [@XanderCrews](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/XanderCrews)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2010, 10:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-pee-to-pee-when-a-doctor-says-pee-in-this-cup/540062/2 "2010-05-19T22:30:58Z")
Good question. I am also curious. ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2010, 10:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-pee-to-pee-when-a-doctor-says-pee-in-this-cup/540062/3 "2010-05-19T22:32:44Z")
They almost always mark on the cup when I go. They must have a higher opinion of you. It’s always right about halfway up for me. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2010, 10:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-pee-to-pee-when-a-doctor-says-pee-in-this-cup/540062/4 "2010-05-19T22:49:06Z")
due to recent kidney problems, the doctor instructed me to collect urine for 24 hours. i had bottles all over the place until i realized he only wanted mine. ---
**Author:** ![Ionizer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/5daacb/32.png) [@Ionizer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ionizer)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2010, 10:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-pee-to-pee-when-a-doctor-says-pee-in-this-cup/540062/5 "2010-05-19T22:54:09Z")
Depends on what test. A typicalin-office ‘dipstick’ with the dozen or so ‘pads’ only needs enough to wet each pad, with a few drops being enough for _that_ most of the time. A drug screen (usually) takes around 60ml as there needs to be enough for a ‘split sample’ (for confirmation of positives, per se, or other type of routine testing procedure). If a ‘specimen’ needs to be looked at under a microscope along with the dipstick part, I’d guesstimate around 10-20cc (minimum for decent reliability, IME). Doesn’t take much for the in-office lab tests unless sending off for culture which varies a bit by Lab, but similar. In-office cultures only take enough to wet tip of wire thingy that rubs it onto the media ‘dish’. The drug screens are more of a ‘mandated amount’, so to speak. I worked lab a good while so I have firsthand experience with this stuff (if it matters). HTH 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![CC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f1d935/32.png) [@CC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CC)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2010, 10:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-pee-to-pee-when-a-doctor-says-pee-in-this-cup/540062/6 "2010-05-19T22:58:44Z")
> [@ed malin](#): > > due to recent kidney problems, the doctor instructed me to collect urine for 24 hours. i had bottles all over the place until i realized he only wanted mine. Great line. ---
**Author:** ![Lynn\_Bodoni](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e47c2d/32.png) [@Lynn\_Bodoni](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lynn_Bodoni)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2010, 11:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-pee-to-pee-when-a-doctor-says-pee-in-this-cup/540062/7 "2010-05-19T23:14:40Z")
> [@ed malin](#): > > due to recent kidney problems, the doctor instructed me to collect urine for 24 hours. i had bottles all over the place until i realized he only wanted mine. You were doing it wrong, then. You’re supposed to refrigerate the pee once you collect it, when doing a collection over a period of time. Having jugs of pee in the fridge grosses my husband RIGHT out, by the way. He’s a hunter, and he does field dress his kills…but having pee in the fridge pushes his squickometer over the limit. So, kids, learn from this…only collect your own pee, and put it in the fridge while collecting. ---
**Author:** ![johnpost](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f17d59/32.png) [@johnpost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/johnpost)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2010, 11:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-pee-to-pee-when-a-doctor-says-pee-in-this-cup/540062/8 "2010-05-19T23:42:52Z")
> [@ed malin](#): > > due to recent kidney problems, the doctor instructed me to collect urine for 24 hours. i had bottles all over the place until i realized he only wanted mine. > [@Lynn\_Bodoni](#): > > You were doing it wrong, then. You’re supposed to refrigerate the pee once you collect it, when doing a collection over a period of time. > > Having jugs of pee in the fridge grosses my husband RIGHT out, by the way. He’s a hunter, and he does field dress his kills…but having pee in the fridge pushes his squickometer over the limit. > > So, kids, learn from this…only collect your own pee, and put it in the fridge while collecting. you should also clearly label it something like ‘pee – not major brewery beer’ ---
**Author:** ![Leo\_Bloom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leo_bloom/32/10377_2.png) [@Leo\_Bloom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leo_Bloom)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2010, 2:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-pee-to-pee-when-a-doctor-says-pee-in-this-cup/540062/9 "2010-05-20T02:07:28Z")
> [@Ionizer](#): > > Depends on what test. A typicalin-office ‘dipstick’ with the dozen or so ‘pads’ only needs enough to wet each pad, with a few drops being enough for _that_ most of the time. A drug screen (usually) takes around 60ml as there needs to be enough for a ‘split sample’ (for confirmation of positives, per se, or other type of routine testing procedure). > > If a ‘specimen’ needs to be looked at under a microscope along with the dipstick part, I’d guesstimate around 10-20cc (minimum for decent reliability, IME). Doesn’t take much for the in-office lab tests unless sending off for culture which varies a bit by Lab, but similar. In-office cultures only take enough to wet tip of wire thingy that rubs it onto the media ‘dish’. The drug screens are more of a ‘mandated amount’, so to speak. > > I worked lab a good while so I have firsthand experience with this stuff (if it matters). HTH 🙂 250 ml is 8 oz., an even cup. So 60 ml is, let me see, a _gajormous_ amount less than the gargantuan river I usually provide. I have no real-world (real to non scientists who use the US system) way to understand 10-20 cc. Can someone help? If only for the sake of kidneys everywhere? ---
**Author:** ![Napier](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ce73a5/32.png) [@Napier](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Napier)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2010, 2:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-pee-to-pee-when-a-doctor-says-pee-in-this-cup/540062/10 "2010-05-20T02:09:37Z")
I think if they are looking for blood they like to centrifuge it so blood collects at the bottom of a vial. If the centrifuge looks like one I used to use, they want a good fraction of the cup, as they are concentrating red blood cells from a large volume. Don’t know if I picture it accurately, tho. ---
**Author:** ![Cub\_Mistress](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ea666f/32.png) [@Cub\_Mistress](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cub_Mistress)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2010, 2:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-pee-to-pee-when-a-doctor-says-pee-in-this-cup/540062/11 "2010-05-20T02:13:48Z")
30 ml (or 30 cc but this is incorrect these days) is about 3 tablespoons, so 10 to 20 ml is about one to two tablespoons. When I worked in a hospital we always tried to collect at least 30 ml. ---
**Author:** ![DSeid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dseid/32/20194_2.png) [@DSeid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSeid)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2010, 2:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-pee-to-pee-when-a-doctor-says-pee-in-this-cup/540062/12 "2010-05-20T02:15:49Z")
> [@Leo\_Bloom](#): > > 250 ml is 8 oz., an even cup. So 60 ml is, let me see, a _gajormous_ amount less than the gargantuan river I usually provide. > > I have no real-world (real to non scientists who use the US system) way to understand 10-20 cc. Can someone help? If only for the sake of kidneys everywhere? 1 tsp is 5cc. Pediatrician here - we can dipstick with a nigh few drops. For the micro indeed we’d prefer enough to get a test filled halfway so we can spin it, pour off most of the excess (the supernatant) and then mix the sediment in the remaining dribble to look at under the microscope. We’d then like a tsp or so left to send out for culture if we need to. We’d have too much than too little, btw. ---
**Author:** ![Shagnasty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9dc877/32.png) [@Shagnasty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shagnasty)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2010, 2:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-pee-to-pee-when-a-doctor-says-pee-in-this-cup/540062/13 "2010-05-20T02:36:56Z")
I usually show hands as steady as you need for the game ‘operation’ just to hand the cup to the nurse without spilling any. Thank god for surface tension. ---
**Author:** ![Hirka\_T\_Bawa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/db5fbb/32.png) [@Hirka\_T\_Bawa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hirka_T_Bawa)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2010, 4:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-pee-to-pee-when-a-doctor-says-pee-in-this-cup/540062/14 "2010-05-20T04:15:16Z")
> [@Leo\_Bloom](#): > > I have no real-world (real to non scientists who use the US system) way to understand 10-20 cc. Can someone help? If only for the sake of kidneys everywhere? 20cc, or 20mL, is 2/3rds of an ounce, or about half of those plastic cups they give shots in at a bar… Hope that’s real world enough 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![outlierrn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/outlierrn/32/3005_2.png) [@outlierrn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/outlierrn)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2010, 4:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-pee-to-pee-when-a-doctor-says-pee-in-this-cup/540062/15 "2010-05-20T04:23:02Z")
I always tell people about 1/2" of a standard specimen cup is fine. I can do a dipstick, pregnancy, microscopic analysis, and culture and sensitivity on that. ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2010, 5:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-pee-to-pee-when-a-doctor-says-pee-in-this-cup/540062/16 "2010-05-20T05:09:27Z")
Do doctors in the US actually have people peeing in cups, not in [sterile plastic containers with lids that go straight to the lab?](https://www.pulmolab.com/images/URs-400.jpg) Freakshow. Former lab tech here too - the standard urine specimen container mostly filled with urine is ideal so you can do a dip in it, but as long as you have enough urine to get a drop on each part of the dipstick it’s usually enough. Other tests added on (like microbiology tests) may require a bit more. ---
**Author:** ![Hirka\_T\_Bawa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/db5fbb/32.png) [@Hirka\_T\_Bawa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hirka_T_Bawa)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2010, 5:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-pee-to-pee-when-a-doctor-says-pee-in-this-cup/540062/17 "2010-05-20T05:33:23Z")
> [@Cat\_Whisperer](#): > > Do doctors in the US actually have people peeing in cups, not in [sterile plastic containers with lids that go straight to the lab?](https://www.pulmolab.com/images/URs-400.jpg) Freakshow. From my experience, this is the “cup” they mean when they say “pee in the cup”. I’ve used the same container from everything from a urine sample to a sperm sample. ---
**Author:** ![outlierrn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/outlierrn/32/3005_2.png) [@outlierrn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/outlierrn)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2010, 6:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-pee-to-pee-when-a-doctor-says-pee-in-this-cup/540062/18 "2010-05-20T06:57:59Z")
They don’t always go straight to the lab, we do all our dipsticks and pregnancy tests in the ER ---
**Author:** ![njtt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ecd19e/32.png) [@njtt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/njtt)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2010, 9:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-pee-to-pee-when-a-doctor-says-pee-in-this-cup/540062/19 "2010-05-20T09:55:58Z")
> [@Hirka\_T\_Bawa](#): > > I’ve used the same container from everything from a urine sample to a sperm sample. Well, I hope you washed it out in between! 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Colophon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f05b48/32.png) [@Colophon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colophon)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2010, 10:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-pee-to-pee-when-a-doctor-says-pee-in-this-cup/540062/20 "2010-05-20T10:10:13Z")
> [@Cat\_Whisperer](#): > > Do doctors in the US actually have people peeing in cups, not in [sterile plastic containers with lids that go straight to the lab?](https://www.pulmolab.com/images/URs-400.jpg) Freakshow. Here in the UK I usually get given one of [these](http://www.ukge.co.uk/uk/product.asp?numRecordPosition=3&P_ID=4590&strPageHistory=&strKeywords=&SearchFor=&PT_ID=386). They only hold 30ml, and are rather narrow (maybe an inch or so across the neck), which means you either have to have superhuman bladder control and aiming technique, or you just have to “dip in” midstream. ☹ On the plus side, you don’t end up providing them with pints of excess fluid - and “ **the screw closure assures an almost leak-proof closing system** ”. Almost. Next time tell me before I put the tube in my trouser pocket. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-pee-to-pee-when-a-doctor-says-pee-in-this-cup/540062.md?page=2)