Is urine color change a sign of disease? 8 different colors of urine explained in one article!

Urine is a metabolic waste produced by everyone every day. The human body excretes urine through the urinary system and urinary tract. It not only removes metabolic waste such as nitrogen-containing compounds in the body, but also regulates the body's water and electrolyte balance. When the weather is hot, urine is an important means for the human body to dissipate heat.

A normal adult's daily urine output is about 1500~2000 ml, and the changes in urine composition are closely related to the human body's condition . Urine tests are also known as the three major routine tests along with blood tests and fecal tests.

But in fact, even if we don't go to the hospital for a special examination, we can also learn some information about our body through the changes in urine color.

Urine discoloration may indicate these problems

Urine is mainly composed of water and a small amount of human metabolic products. Normally, it is transparent to light yellow, and the specific color concentration is affected by the amount of water we take in. But in addition to the normal color, urine sometimes appears in red, pink, or even black, blue-green, purple, white and other different colors. There is some health information hidden behind each color.

1. Transparent/colorless

If your urine is transparent and colorless, it means that you may be drinking too much water and need to reduce it appropriately to avoid water intoxication. If you are taking diuretics, you need to consider whether taking too much medicine has disrupted the body's normal urination mechanism.

2. Transparent/light yellow

Normal urine color.

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3. Yellow

If the urine is dark in color and the amount of urine is small, it means that you are not drinking enough water. You need to increase your water intake appropriately to avoid dehydration. It is normal to have dark yellow urine occasionally. You can recover after proper hydration. If you have not recovered yet, you need to consider whether there are other influencing factors.

After taking nutritional supplements such as vitamin B, your urine may turn yellow, which is brighter than the yellow caused by dehydration. The appearance of bright yellow urine does not mean that there is a health risk in the body, but you should also pay attention to whether the amount of vitamin supplements you take exceeds the recommended amount.

4. Red/Pink

If your urine turns red, it doesn't necessarily mean something is wrong with your body. It could also be because you've eaten too much. If you've eaten a lot of foods that are rich in pigment, such as beets, pitaya, carrots, and raspberries, your urine may turn slightly pink or red.

Taking medications can also affect the color of urine. Drugs such as rifampicin, metronidazole, daunorubicin, warfarin, and epalrestat can also cause our urine to turn red or pink. When taking rifampicin, not only will the urine change color, but the saliva and sweat of the human body will also turn orange-red.

If neither of the above two conditions are met, then perhaps you need to consider the worst possibility - hematuria . Urinary tract infection, stones, kidney disease and tumors can all cause hematuria.

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5. Soy sauce color/tan/black

If the color of your urine looks like the light soy sauce in your kitchen, it may be caused by drugs such as metronidazole, nitrofurantoin, senna, methocarbamol, sorbitol, and the phenol derivative cresol. In addition, if you are injecting iron supplements, the urine may change color due to the compounds formed when the iron is excreted.

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But if you are not taking any medication, then you need to consider that there is something wrong with your body. This dark urine is common in patients with old hematuria, severe kidney disease, intravascular hemolysis, phenol poisoning, melanoma, etc. Regardless of the cause, you need to go to the hospital for examination and treatment as soon as possible .

6. Teal

That's right, human urine can have such a "free" color. When taking drugs such as methylene blue, triamterene, and methylene blue, the urine will turn blue-green due to the influence of the drugs. In addition, if you are infected with Pseudomonas aeruginosa, cholera, typhus and other diseases, it may also cause urine color change.

7. Purple

Purple urine is often seen in patients with urinary tract infections, usually because the patient develops an infection after using a catheter , so this condition is also called purple urine bag syndrome.

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8. White

If the urine is white and turbid, it may be caused by urinary tract infection or prostatitis. If the urine looks like milk, it may be caused by filariasis or perinephric lymphatic obstruction.

In general, there are three main factors that affect urine color: food, medicine and disease .

If it is caused by the intake of specific foods, the urine color will return to normal when the food is completely digested. If the urine color change is due to a benign reaction caused by taking medication, it will usually disappear on its own after stopping the medication. However, if you are not taking medication or there are other factors that may cause urine color change while taking medication, you need to go to the hospital for medical treatment in time .

In any case, it is a good habit to look back after peeing.

Author: Hydra popular science creator

Review丨Wu Zhigang, deputy chief physician, First Affiliated Hospital of Wenzhou Medical University