Check if you have a problem
Quick Health Check
If you are experiencing a health issue, to support you to identify the problem, check the seriousness of the problem and understand what action to take to manage it, we have provided easy-to-use tools to help you.
The Tools
The Quick Health Check is an automated version of these 5 tools. These tools work together to help you with bladder and kidney problems.
- Checklist
Answer a few simple questions to help you to quickly identify a problem - Warning Signs
Check whether you have a serious problem that needs immediate attention by a healthcare professional - Severity Scale
Quickly assess how severe the problem is - Interference Scale
Select one number to determine how much the problem interferes with your daily life - Action to Take
The severity and interference scale ratings combine to provide you with the recommended action you need to take to manage the problem.
You can use the 5 manual tools below if you prefer this approach to using the automated Quick Health Check in the top right-hand corner of the page.
1. Checklist
Check if you have a problem
If you answer ‘yes’ to any of the questions below, refer to the Severity scale to see whether your problem is mild, moderate or severe, and then the interferance scale and action to take table, to understand whether you can self-manage or whether you need to manage with the support of a healthcare professional.
- Have you been experiencing signs or symptoms, including:
- General – fever, chills, nausea, vomiting, feeling unwell, cloudy or smelly urine, discomfort/burning when urinating or blood in urine, along with
- Specific to SCI – leakage of urine (incontinence), increased spasms, lower abdominal pain or autonomic dysreflexia?
Have you been experiencing a dull aching pain and tenderness in one or both flanks (lower back below ribcage at side) where your kidneys are located?
Have you been noticing an increase in sediment, sand, grit or hard calcified matter in your urine?
Have you seen any blood in your urine recently?
Are you experiencing high urine volumes (more than 600ml), increased frequency of bladder voiding or passing more catheters overnight?
Have you been experiencing frequent episodes of pounding headache, profuse sweating, blotchy skin/rashes or blurred vision related to your bladder (e.g., distended bladder, blocked catheter), which may indicate autonomic dysreflexia?
2. Warning Signs
If you experience any of the following issues, these are the warning signs indicating there may be a serious problem requiring further investigation and/or treatment:
- Recurrent urinary tract infections (3 or more in last 6 months)
- ‘Grit’ or urinary sediment
- Blood in urine
- Changes on ultrasound or other x-ray imaging, including;
- Presence of kidney and/or bladder stones OR
- Hydronephrosis (swollen kidney/s because your urine is backing up under pressure from your bladder and filling it with urine)
- Deterioration in blood tests for renal (kidney) function.
If you experience any of these issues there may be a serious problem requiring further investigation – seek medical attention immediately
3. Severity scale
To check how severe your problem is, use the Severity Scale to assess the intensity, duration and frequency of your signs and symptoms.
Problems | Mild | Moderate | Severe |
|---|---|---|---|
Urinary tract infection (UTI) | 1 or 2 UTIs per year | 3 to 4 UTIs per year | 3 or more episodes of UTI in last 6 months |
Catheter blockage | Less than once a month | 1-2 times per month | Weekly or more often |
Difficulty inserting a catheter | Once in a while | Frequently | Always |
Urine leakage | Once a month or less AND/OR few drops only | Once a week or less AND/OR one pad per day | Several times a week to once daily or more AND/OR flooding wetness |
Bladder and kidney stones | – | Able to pass | Unable to pass |
Blood in urine | – | Microscopic | Visible |
Urinary retention | Residual volume = 100 to 150mls | Residual volume = 150 to 300mls | Residual volume = >300mls on 2 or more occasions |
Urinary tract infection (UTI) |
|---|
Mild Moderate Severe |
Catheter blockage |
Mild Moderate Severe |
Difficulty inserting a catheter |
Mild Moderate Severe |
Urine leakage |
Mild Moderate Severe |
Bladder and kidney stones |
Mild Moderate Severe |
Blood in urine |
Mild Moderate Severe |
Urinary retention |
Mild Moderate Severe |
4. Interference scale
To determine to what extent your problem interferes with participating in everyday activities, use the scale below:
5. Action to take
This table provides a way to combine your severity and interference ratings from above scales to help you decide what level of support you may need to most effectively manage your problem.
Severity rating | Interference rating | Management strategies |
|---|---|---|
Mild problem | (0) Not at all) | Self-manage without support |
Mild problem | (1) A little of the time | Self-manage without support |
Mild problem | (2) Some of the time | Self-manage with support from your GP or other healthcare professional |
Mild problem | (3) A lot of the time | Self-manage with support from your GP or other healthcare professional |
Moderate problem | (0) Not at all) | Self-manage with support from your GP or other healthcare professional |
Moderate problem | (1) A little of the time | Self-manage with support from your GP or other healthcare professional |
Moderate problem | (2) Some of the time | Self-manage with support from your GP or other healthcare professional |
Moderate problem | (3) A lot of the time | Manage with specialist support |
Severe problem | (0) Not at all) | Manage with specialist support |
Severe problem | (1) A little of the time | Manage with specialist support |
Severe problem | (2) Some of the time | Manage with specialist support |
Severe problem | (3) A lot of the time | Manage with specialist support |
Note: If you are self-managing without support and your problem has not been resolved, you should seek help from your GP, other healthcare professional or involve a spinal cord injury specialist in your management plan.