Unless you’re stuck in a car 100 miles from the nearest gas station when you feel the
urge to pee, you probably don’t spend too much time thinking about your urine.
But just like paying attention to changes in your stool, taking a peek in the bowl on
your pee breaks can, too.
Hi viewers and welcome back to another Bestie video!
You've probably heard that the color of your pee can tell you how hydrated you are.
But urine can give other information about your health.
Aside from the basic yellow hue, pee can actually come in a rainbow of colors—some healthy,
some not.
And, in today’s video, we will tell you what these colours are and what they mean.
From purple, blue, brown, black to green and more, watch till the end to learn about all
of them.
Orange: Just like your skin can skew orange when you eat too many carrots, so can your
pee.
Overdoing it means you’ve delivered yourself a heaping dose of beta-carotene, which is
then excreted in urine.
Certain meds for over-the-counter UTI treatment , blood thinning, and some laxatives can also
result in orange pee.
The good news is you know you’re taking these meds and a good doctor will give you
the heads-up about color changes so you don’t freak out.
If you see more of a neon or fluorescent orange, though, something could be up with your liver.
Especially if you notice a yellowish tint to the whites of your eyes.
Orange pee that skews slightly more brown could also just be a sign of dehydration.
Have you ever had orange pee?
What was the reason for it?
Tell us quickly down below in the comments section!
Yellow: Bright yellow urine is a sign of excess B-vitamins in the body, including B-2 and
B-12, although this condition is harmless.
Taking B-vitamin supplements can lead to urine of this color.
The yellow color darkens as the concentration of the urine increases.
Concentration refers to the proportion of waste products to water.
The urine darkens as the concentration increases, because the body takes in less fluid.
This also happens if fluid is lost by other means, such as sweating.
People use the yellow in urine to indicate fluid balance in the body.
It is also a reliable way to monitor hydration levels during exercise.
Clear: Clear urine indicates that you’re drinking more than the daily recommended amount
of water.
While being hydrated is a good thing, drinking too much water can rob your body of electrolytes.
Urine that occasionally looks clear is no reason to panic.
But urine that’s always clear could indicate that you need to cut back on how much water
you’re drinking.
Clear urine can also indicate liver problems like cirrhosis and viral hepatitis.
If you are not drinking large amounts of water and have ongoing clear urine, you should see
your doctor.
Brown: One of the foremost reasons for brown urine is dehydration.
Even a slight brownish tinge to yellow urine can mean you need to rehydrate with fluids.
However, dark brown urine, rusty urine, or coca cola-colored urine can be a sign of rhabdomyolysis.
This is a condition where your muscle tissues release a protein into the bloodstream, leading
to possible kidney damage.
This problem can be caused by severe injury, but today it's known for happening after particularly
strenuous exercise.
Especially one that your body is not conditioned for.
Along with dark and pungent urine, watch for muscle swelling and intense soreness.
If you have symptoms of rhabdo, you need to call your doctor right away.
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Red: This is one of the most important colors urologists worry about because they have to
make sure that it's not blood.
First, though, it could be totally innocent.
Did you go to a juice bar and order a drink made with beets?
A small percentage of people have a genetic alteration that makes them more likely to
develop red or pink urine after eating red-hued food like beets, rhubarb and blackberries.
Another relatively benign cause is "runner's hematuria."
This is when the bladder rubs against itself as you run, causing the appearance of blood
in the urine after exercise.
If this happens to you, don't brush it off — get checked out by your doctor to ensure
that this is, indeed, what's going on.
When there's red urine, it can indicate a problem with organs like kidneys, ureters,
bladder and prostate.
If there is a problem with your urinary system, you'll likely experience other symptoms as
well.
For instance, if you have a kidney stone, you might also notice back pain in the area
over a kidney, frequent urge to pee or burning with urination.
A urinary tract infection might also involve burning with urination, fever and urinary
frequency.
Prostate problems can come with visible blood in the urine as well as a decreased urinary
stream and having problems getting all of your urine out when you go.
Finally, red pee could be a sign of cancer.
Bladder cancer is the fourth most common cancer in those assigned male at birth.
It presents with no symptoms except for a few drops of blood in the urine.
Having any visible blood in the urine warrants a call to your doc to ensure it's not a UTI,
stone or tumor.
Cloudy and Foamy: 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 being dehydrated.
Cloudy urine with foam or bubbles is called pneumaturia.
This can be a symptom of serious health conditions, including Crohn’s disease or diverticulitis.
There are some cases where urine is foamy, and doctors can’t determine the cause.
Urine that appears foamy or bubbly is typically the result of a very forceful urine stream.
That may mean "pushing" harder than usual to make urine flow, or even elevated blood
pressure.
If it persists over time, you might want to have a urinalysis test.
Foamy urine can also be a sign of elevated protein in the urine, which can be a sign
of a kidney problem.
Fluorescent: In adults, fluorescence is a hallmark of antifreeze poisoning and typically
only lasts for a few hours after the poisoning.
Under a black light, the urine of someone poisoned with antifreeze will glow blue if
the sample is obtained in the first four hours after poisoning.
In children, it can be suggestive of antifreeze poisoning, but, oddly enough, may be found
in perfectly healthy children.
It should not be used alone to diagnose poisoning in younger patients.
Green: Certain medications can lead to green urine, as well as eating asparagus.
B vitamins can also lead to a green pee color.
None of these causes are that big of a deal.
But green pee can also be a sign of a bacterial infection, which is worrisome.
If it were a bacterial infection, you might also have a fever and perhaps a milky appearance
to the urine.
See your doctor if you have any of these symptoms and your urine is green, whitish or milky-looking.
Blue: This is most frequently caused by the presence of food dye.
Strongly colored foods, such as dark blue frosting, can result in a urine color change,
as can asparagus.
Blue urine can also indicate the presence of a bacteria leading to a very rare condition
called porphyria, or dyes used for medical testing.
Some medications are also known to cause a blue urine color.
This is not typically a sign of a kidney problem, but may still be alarming to the unsuspecting
patient taking these medications.
There is also a rare inherited condition that increases calcium levels and can cause blue
urine: it is commonly known as blue diaper syndrome.
Calcium is very important for your bones and general overall health and you should always
make sure your body has enough of it.
Learn how you can recognize signs of its deficiency by watching “19 Signs You Are Suffering
From Calcium Deficiency”
Now, back to Urine colors and what they say about your health
Purple: There is a very rare condition called purple urine bag syndrome.
That, as you might imagine, is typically found in people who have a Foley catheter to assist
with urine drainage and collection.
Oddly enough, the purple urine only happens when a patient has highly alkaline urine and
a catheter in place.
The urine doesn't actually change in color—it only appears purple in the collecting bag.
If the catheter and collecting bag are changed, the urine again appears its normal color.
Porphyria, a very rare condition, can also result in a purple color.
Black: Certain medications are known to cause black urine.
The laxative sorbitol can result in black urine.
Iron injections, used to treat certain types of anemia, can also lead to urine being black,
but oral iron does not.
Black urine disease, is a rare condition in which the body cannot process specific amino
acids.
Weird Odor: There are many reasons that urine may have an odor.
Dehydration makes urine stronger, which can result in an increase in odor.
Certain foods, such as asparagus, can make urine smell.
There are also conditions that can result in unusual urine odor, such as maple syrup
urine disease, which causes the urine to smell like pancake syrup.﻿ Sweet smelling urine
may indicate diabetes, musty-smelling is often the result of liver disease or liver failure,
foul-smelling urine is usually associated with the presence of a urinary tract infection.
In general, urine odor should be concerning if it persists without explanation or is foul
in nature.
If it is food-related or due to dehydration, it should pass over the course of the day
as you drink water and the urine returns to normal.
One of the most common causes of discolored urine is kidney trouble.
Learn how you can better kidney health by watching:
13 Foods That Make Your Kidneys Healthy
Or
9 Superfoods To Lower Your Creatinine Levels & Improve Kidney Health
So go ahead and watch one or both of these videos for maximum benefits.
What’s the weirdest urine color that you’ve experienced?
Let us know in the comments section below!