What urine colour tells about your kidneys, overall health
Colour of your urine can tell a lot about what's going inside your body. A dark yellow colour usually means you are dehydrated while a reddish urine could indicate cancer. Here's all you want to know.
Urine has an important function to play in the body as it helps get rid of waste and extra water that is not needed by the body. Before leaving your body, urine travels through the urinary tract which is a pathway that includes kidneys that filter waste from the blood. It is also a useful tool for diagnosis of many diseases. In fact, the colour of your urine may tell you what's happening inside your body. A dark yellow colour usually means you are dehydrated while a reddish urine could indicate cancer. Your urine can be pink, brown, purple, milky white too due to a variety of reasons ranging from the food you eat to the medicines you take to certain medical conditions. (Also read: Kidney failure: Doctors on tips for dialysis patients to avoid frequent hospitalisations, stay healthy)
"Urine is a useful tool in the diagnosis of many diseases. The normal urine is light yellow in colour due to urobilin pigment produced in the body. The normal urine colour can vary from straw to dark yellow depending on how much water you drink. If you are dehydrated, like after working out in the sun, the kidneys absorb more water from the urine and return it back to the body to maintain the water balance. Therefore, the pigments normally present in the urine get concentrated, giving it a dark yellow colour. If you drink more water than the body needs the kidneys throw the excess water out in the urine and you get a colour less urine. Jaundice is a common cause of dark yellow urine. Medications like B complex vitamins, sulphasalazine used to treat ulcerative colitis and phenazopyridine used to treat pain in urinary tract infections can turn your urine into dark yellow or orange colour, says Dr Ajit Singh Narula, Principal Director, Nephrology & Kidney Transplant, Fortis Escorts, Okhla Road, New Delhi.
"The urine examination is one of the most important and basic tests of kidney function.
Even for the layman, keeping an eye on the urine colour can tell us much about the kidney function. If we are well hydrated the urine is usually colourless. So, if the urine is dark yellow, it may indicate dehydration or water deficit in the body. The urine may also be yellow in a patient with liver disease or with jaundice. Foul-smelling urine usually indicates urine infection. Sometimes, the urine may be reddish in colour due to internal bleeding in the urinary tract, for example, due to stones, malignancy, or infection. The urine may also be reddish in case of primary glomerular diseases called glomerulonephritis," says Dr Mohit Khirbat, Consultant, Nephrology, CK Birla Hospital, Gurugram.
"The colour of urine can be a marker of underlying kidney disease and general health. Clear to yellow urine is normal and indicates normal kidney function, while odd colours such as orange or blue may be due to certain medications such as laxatives, antidepressants and antibiotics. But there are two colours that you must take seriously - red and dark brown. Red colour should never be ignored as it can be the first sign of underlying bladder or kidney cancer. Other reasons can be stones in kidney and urinary tract infection. Cloudy urine could be a sign of dehydration, urinary tract infection or someone on a long-term urine catheter. Cloudy urine or foamy urine needs attention as it can be a sign of underlying kidney disease or bladder condition. Excess water intake may mask it, but it should be investigated to rule out the cause," says Dr Nipun AC, Urological Surgeon MBBS, MS-General Surgery, MCh-Urology, Pristyn Care.
CHANGE IN URINE COLOUR DUE TO FOOD
"Certain foods like rhubarb, fava beans, some antibiotics, severe dehydration or rhabdomyolysis in which muscles breakdown during strenuous exercises or liver disease where the excessive bilirubin is excreted in the urine or Porphyria, a rare genetic disorder affecting the skin and nervous system can cause brown urine. A pink urine could occur after eating blueberries, rhubarb, beetroot, with a drug like rifampicin or even be due to a tinge of blood. Reddish urine could indicate blood in your urine due to kidney disease, cancers of the kidney or bladder, kidney stones, or urinary tract infections. Blue or Green urine may be due to foods like asparagus, use of green or blue dyes in the food, anti-depressants like amitriptyline; and urinary infections with a bacteria called Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Purple urine is rarely seen in constipated women, chronically catheterised and associated with bacterial urinary infections. Alkaptonuria an inherited disorder can produce Black urine. Intermittent passage of milky white urine may be due to the rare condition of chyluria," says Dr Ajit Singh Narula.
Dr Khirbat also talks about the other health issues urine can indicate.
- Frothy urine indicates the presence of protein in the urine.
- Decreased urine output may indicate dehydration or a primary kidney problem.
- Excessive urination may be due to uncontrolled diabetes.
- Frequent urination is common in urinary tract infection often along with burning.
"Urine albumin creatinine ratio is a protein in your blood that shouldn't show up in your urine. If it does, this often signals a problem with your kidneys. Levels over 30 milligrams per gram indicate an increased risk for severe kidney disease. Always make it a habit to have a look at the colour of your urine before flushing the commode. A detection of an abnormal urine colour and its investigation may save you from serious medical conditions later on," says Dr Nipun AC.