chance to learn something about
yourself — from how hydrated you are
to whether some of your vital organs
may be showing signs of dysfunction.
Many shifts in urine colour can be
explained simply by how hydrated your
body is at any given moment, according
to Dr. Daniel Shoskes, a urologist at
Cleveland Clinic.
"A lot of changes simply come from the
state of hydration, which is affected by a
whole bunch of things you're doing,"
Shoskes said. "The various shades of
yellow to white to dark can just be a
sign of how much fluid you are taking in,
versus how much you're putting out."
But if your urine starts to look
particularly strange, other factors may
be to blame.
"There are colours that point to specific
organs. When you have blood in the
urine, that's a sign that there's
something coming from the urinary
tract, kidneys, bladder, prostate or
urethra," Shoskes said. "If it's something
that is more brownish, it can point to a
problem with the liver, but really
looking at the urine grossly is just a very
first kind of screening indication that
maybe more needs to be done in terms
of looking at it under the microscope."
Here, Shoskes helps us decode the
numerous shades that may show up in
your urine:
Transparent
If your urine is completely clear, it may
be a sign that you are drinking too much
water.
"There can be rare risks with drinking a
very large amount of water (including)
diluting the salts in the body, Shoskes
said. "But in general, if you're drinking
so much that your urine looks like
water, you probably are drinking more
than you need."
That being said, over-hydration rarely
causes serious health issues. "You're
probably not causing yourself great
harm unless you are forcing yourself to
drink far beyond what you need," he
noted.
Pale straw to amber or honey
Lighter shades of yellow indicate that
you are probably well-hydrated — but
as the colour darkens, it could be a sign
you need to refuel with fluids.
Syrup or brown ale
If you're noticing shades of brown in
your urine, it could simply be a sign that
you are dehydrated. However, it's worth
getting checked out by a doctor because
brown urine could also be indicative of a
problem in the liver, Shoskes said.
"If there is liver disease or bile, some of
the bile salts that the liver should be
processing and eliminating through stool
are hanging around in blood and ending
up in urine — people with severe liver
disease can have brown urine," he said.
"That's something that can be
determined rather quickly by a dip stick
test of urine."
If brownish urine is starting to worry
you, consult your doctor to get it
checked out.
Pink to reddish
See an unexplained red hue in the
bowl? That could be a major problem,
according to Shoskes.
"In urology, our most prominent
(warning sign) is red, which, while it can
come from food you've eaten and other
substances you've ingested, if it is
coming from blood it can often mean a
problem."
If you notice a pink or red tint to your
urine — even once — it's worth seeing a
doctor, Shoskes advised.
"There's a huge list of conditions, both
benign and malignant, that can cause
(blood in the urine), anything from
medical kidney disease to a UTI, stones
in the kidneys or bladder or the more
serious cancers of the kidney, bladder,
prostate," he said.
Once a doctor analyses a urine sample,
he will quickly be able to determine if
the pink or red tint is actually caused by
blood or something else — and can
proceed with the appropriate course of
action.
Blue or green
For most people, seeing blue or green
urine in the toilet bowl would be quite
the shock — and urine of this colour is
very rare, according to Shoskes. While
some little-known diseases, including
porphyria (an inherited enzyme
condition) can result in a person having
blue or green urine, a change in urine
colour wouldn't be the first sign of
disease among sufferers.
Sometimes, people can urinate in
strange colours after eating dyed foods
as well, Shoskes said.
"It depends how well the dyes are
absorbed by the gut and how easily
they pass into the kidney — there will
be many food dyes and substances that
simply don't get absorbed and make
their way out of the GI tract," Shoskes
said; noting that this is why faeces often
contains various colours. "And when
they do get excreted in urine, they can
certainly cause a change and there may
be some genetic factor in how that
happens. But for many people, food dye
never affects them."
Certain medications can also be
responsible for bizarre changes in urine
colour, Shoskes noted.
Non-colour factors
Does your urine smell weird? It's
probably nothing to fret about,
according to Shoskes.
"Smell of the urine usually is not such a
direct indicator of a disease," Shoskes
noted. "It's much more of an indicator
of foods you've eaten or medications
you may be taking."
Sometimes, the consistency of urine can
also appear strange — for example, if
urine looks foamier than usual. While
this may simply be a result of urinating
with more force than usual, it can
occasionally be an indicator of a health-
related symptom.
"While usually not an issue, just an
effect of how strongly you're urinating,
occasional foaminess can be a sign of
protein in the urine," Shoskes said.
Protein in the urine can be indicative of
a kidney problem — so if you're
concerned, ask your doctor to perform a
urine analysis.
Overall, Shoskes said people should feel
comfortable talking to their physician if
they notice anything strange about their
urine — and should make sure that
doctors always perform a urine analysis
during regular physicals.
"Urine is something that most of us look
at our own several times a day and will
wonder about," Shoskes said. "Noticing
urine colour is a starting point for
discussion with your doctor, not a way
to make final diagnoses."
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