Aldosterone in Urine

How It Is Done

  • You start collecting your urine in the morning. When you first get up, empty your bladder but do not save this urine. Write down the time that you urinated to mark the beginning of your 24-hour collection period.
  • For the next 24 hours, collect all your urine. Your doctor or lab will usually provide you with a large container that holds about 4 L (1 gal). The container has a small amount of preservative in it. Urinate into a small, clean container and then pour the urine into the large container. Do not touch the inside of the container with your fingers.
  • Keep the large container in the refrigerator for the 24 hours.
  • Empty your bladder for the final time at or just before the end of the 24-hour period. Add this urine to the large container and record the time.
  • Do not get toilet paper, pubic hair, stool (feces), menstrual blood, or other foreign matter in the urine sample.

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Author: Jan Nissl, RN, BS
Sydney Youngerman-Cole, RN, BSN, RNC
Last Updated: November 30, 2006
Medical Review: Caroline S. Rhoads, MD - Internal Medicine
Hanan Bassyouni, MD - Endocrinology and Metabolism
Alan C. Dalkin, MD - Endocrinology

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Topic Contents
 Test Overview
 Why It Is Done
 How To Prepare
Arrow PointerHow It Is Done
 How It Feels
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 What Affects the Test
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