Stomach Upsets, Digestive Complaints and Urinary Symptoms: GP in Dubai
Vomiting and diarrhoea, cramping pain, indigestion that keeps returning, burning when passing urine: common, usually short-lived, and occasionally the start of something that needs treating properly. At Smart Care Polyclinic in Deira, a GP examines you, does the tests that change the plan in the room, and treats the cause. The consultation is AED 70.
For: vomiting, diarrhoea, abdominal pain, indigestion, urinary burning or frequency
Takes: a 15-20 minute consultation; dipstick and rapid tests on site
Price: consultation AED 70
What it is
Gastroenteritis is mostly viral and self-limiting. The treatment is fluids and rehydration salts, eating when able, and time; antibiotics are used only for specific bacterial causes, which a stool test identifies when diarrhoea is bloody, severe, or lasts more than a few days, or after travel. What the GP is checking for is dehydration, and pain that is localised rather than crampy, which points away from a stomach bug.
Indigestion, reflux and bloating that recur are assessed for H. pylori, the stomach bacterium that causes ulcers and is tested for with a breath or stool test and treated with a short antibiotic course; the American College of Gastroenterology guideline sets out who to test and how to treat.1 Persistent symptoms with weight loss, difficulty swallowing, vomiting blood or black stools are referred promptly.
Urinary infection in women is diagnosed on symptoms and a dipstick, and treated with a short course. The international IDSA guideline covers acute uncomplicated cystitis in otherwise healthy non-pregnant women, favouring short courses of antibiotics chosen to limit resistance.2 A urine culture is sent when infections recur, in pregnancy, in men, or when the first course fails. Fever with back pain suggests the kidney and is treated differently.
Tests done in the room
Urine dipstick and, where needed, a sample sent for culture; a stool test for infection; a blood count and kidney function where dehydration or a bacterial infection is suspected; an H. pylori test for recurrent indigestion. Most are back the same day. The GP will say which are worth doing rather than testing everything.
When it is not a stomach bug
Pain that settles in one place — the lower right for appendicitis, the upper right for the gallbladder, the loin for a kidney stone — or pain with fever, a rigid abdomen, or blood needs assessment the same day and may need imaging or a hospital. The GP examines for exactly this, which is the reason to be seen rather than to self-treat.
The consultation, and what follows from it
GP consultation
Assessment, examination and a plan with every cost stated before anything further is done.
AED 70 was AED 130
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Questions patients ask
Usually not. Most gastroenteritis is viral and settles with fluids in a few days. Antibiotics are used for specific bacterial causes identified on a stool test, typically after travel or with bloody or prolonged diarrhoea.
Yes. A dipstick in the room confirms it, and a short antibiotic course is prescribed. A culture is sent where infections recur or the first course fails.
A breath or stool test for the bacterium that causes stomach ulcers and persistent indigestion. If positive it is treated with a short combination course and re-tested to confirm it has gone.
This guide is general information, not advice about you. A GP's assessment depends on your history and examination, which is why the consultation exists.
References
- Chey WD, Howden CW, Moss SF, et al.. ACG Clinical Guideline: Treatment of Helicobacter pylori Infection. The American Journal of Gastroenterology. 2024;119(9):1730-1753. PMID 39626064. doi:10.14309/ajg.0000000000002968The American College of Gastroenterology guideline on testing for and treating H. pylori infection.
- Gupta K, Hooton TM, Naber KG, et al.. International clinical practice guidelines for the treatment of acute uncomplicated cystitis and pyelonephritis in women: A 2010 update by the Infectious Diseases Society of America and the European Society for Microbiology and Infectious Diseases. Clinical Infectious Diseases. 2011;52(5):e103-e120. PMID 21292654. doi:10.1093/cid/ciq257The IDSA/ESCMID guideline on treating uncomplicated cystitis and pyelonephritis in otherwise healthy non-pregnant women, weighing resistance and collateral damage in the choice and length of antibiotic.
Sources are listed for the specific statements they support. They are published research and guidance, not a substitute for a consultation — what applies to you is decided by a doctor who has assessed you.