Have you noticed that when you stay hydrated, your urine will be a light yellow, close-to-clear colour? Urine naturally carries a yellow pigment. Doctors usually refer to the standard colour of your urine as “urochrome.”
So when you are getting dehydrated, you will notice that your urine is becoming a deep amber or even light brown. The different pigments in the food you eat or medication can also be carried through your digestive tract to change the colour of your urine.
Do you know that your urine colour can tell a lot about the state of your health? Let’s find out:
Clear urine
Clear urine indicates that you’re drinking too much water and could rob your body of electrolytes. It could also indicate liver problems like cirrhosis and viral hepatitis.
Yellowish to amber urine
The colour of “typical” urine depends on how diluted the urochrome pigment is, which is produced by your body breaking down haemoglobin, the protein that carries oxygen in your red blood cells.
Red or Pink Urine
Urine may look red or pink if you eat fruits with naturally deep pink or magenta pigments, like beets, blueberries or rhubarb. While urine that’s red or pink might be from something you ate recently, there are sometimes other causes. Some health conditions can cause blood to appear in your urine, a symptom known as hematuria, including enlarged prostate, kidney stones and tumours in the bladder and kidney.
Orange urine
If your urine appears orange, it could mean that you need to stay more dehydrated. However, if you have urine that’s orange in addition to light-coloured stools, bile may be getting into your bloodstream because of issues with your bile ducts or liver. Adult-onset jaundice can also cause orange urine.
Blue or green urine
This is rare and usually connected to your diet. Blue or green urine can be caused by food colouring, especially a dye called methylene blue. This dye is in many types of candy and some medications. The pseudomonas aeruginosa bacterial infection can also cause your urine to turn blue, green, or even indigo purple.
Dark Brown urine
In most cases, urine that’s dark brown indicates dehydration. Eating large amounts of rhubarb, aloe, or fava beans can cause dark brown urine. Dark brown urine can also be a side effect of certain medications, including metronidazole (Flagyl) and nitrofurantoin (Furadantin), chloroquine (Aralen), cascara or senna-based laxatives, and methocarbamol.
Cloudy urine
Cloudy urine can be a sign of a urinary tract infection. It can also be a symptom of some chronic diseases and kidney conditions. In some cases, cloudy urine is another sign of dehydration. Cloudy urine with foam or bubbles is called pneumaturia. This can be a symptom of serious health conditions, including Crohn’s disease or diverticulitis.
If you have cloudy urine and you are pregnant, it could be a sign of a dangerous condition called preeclampsia. You need to get in touch with your healthcare professional right away and let them know if you develop cloudy or bubbly urine during pregnancy.