Urinary Diary

University Medical Centers

Your doctor has asked you to keep a urinary diary. This brochure tells you how to use the urination diary.

Why a urinary diary?

The urinary diary is intended to provide insight for you and the physician about:

o How many ml (milliliters) do you drink;

o How many ml do you urinate;

o How many times a day do you urinate;

o How much urine you lose, how often, and how many ml.

You can start the urination diary at any time of the day, but you must complete it for 24 hours in a row after that. For example, it may be from 12:00 am to 12:00 am, or it may be from 8:00 am to 8:00 am the next day.

In the first column, you will find the drinking volume in milliliters; we use the abbreviation ml. You use this collum to record when you have consumed fluids.

For example, you drink a cup of coffee at 8:00 am. You then enter the time and under the column the drink volume, 125 ml.

Each time you urinate, put it in a measuring cup and record it. Record the time and number of millimeters you urinate. So, you have to fill this in for 24 hours every time you urinate.

In the urine loss column, enter: a 1 or 2, depending on the amount of urine you lose (or notice loss):

1= little (wet underwear, incontinence pads)

2= a lot (e.g., clothing changes required, full of incontinence pads)

If you are self-cathering, note the time of self-cathering and note the amount of residue in ml.

For fluid intake, the following applies:

1 cup = 125 ml

1 mug / soup bowl = 200 ml

1 wine glass = 150 ml

1 glass of beer or soda = 200 ml

1 piece of fruit = 75 ml

1 dessert = 150 ml