What does the color of your urine mean?

Most of us experience seeing a different color of urine sometimes. And most of us have no idea what this change of color means.

The change in urine hue as well as the smell can provide us clues to what is going on inside our body.

Pale
If you are seeing a colorless urine, and you are finding it worrisome, you should not. Healthy people produce semi-clear urine.

This can also happen if you have been drinking a lot of water lately. Generally, having light colored urine is normal and does not need any urgent medical attention.

Brownish or Dark
Too much or too little amount of water can affect the consistency of urine. The only difference is that too little consumption of liquids can make you feel dizzy or lightheaded, and too much may oblige you to visit the restroom more often.

Ever noticed your urine having a brownish, iced tea-colored tinge? That might be a sign of dehydration, showing that your kidney is producing more concentrated (as opposed to diluted) urine.

However, if a few glasses of water don't lighten up the dark urine, perhaps you should consider consulting a physician. Darkness of urine can also mean presence of blood. It may not appear as streaks of bright red but presence of even small amounts of blood can indicate internal bleeding which is maybe occurring higher up in the kidneys, indicating infection or worse, cancer.

Bright yellow
Having neon-colored urine may look somehow alarming for some. But it may only be caused by taking a daily multivitamin pill.

A deeper, more golden color of urine due to intake of B vitamins and carotene simply means that your body is pissing away all the excesses. Dr. Deborah J. Lightner, associate professor of urology at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota says that there's nothing to worry about such circumstances; the urine color can be affected as vitamins goes through your system even after they are absorbed and metabolized.

Orange
Consuming yellow or orange-colored foods such as carrots can turn urine yellow or orange, a condition known as carotenemia. Beta-carotene is the pigment responsible for these changes.

Warfarin (brand name Coumadin), an anticoagulant, can also cause the urine to appear orange. Vitamin C can also turn urine dark yellow or orange. Rifampin, an antibiotic, can also produce a similar effect.

Pink or Red
Consuming a lot of beets, blackberries or rhubarb can make your urine look pinkish to reddish.

However, the fact that your urine might be containing presence of blood cannot be disregarded.
Urine might contain red blood cells, or hemoglobin released from damaged red blood cells, or myoglobin. Myoglobin is a red pigment which is responsible for storing oxygen in muscles. Damaged muscle cells may release myoglobin, turning the urine red.

Blood in the urine can also indicate injured kidneys, urinary bladder or urinary tract.

Green or Blue
Having green or blue urine is unusual. However, eating a lot of asparagus can sometimes turn urine green, aside from a distinctive odor.

Pseudomonas aeruginosa a bacterium that can cause infection can also give the same result.
Some drugs can also cause the urine to turn blue, such as Amitriptyline, an antidepressant, Indomethacin (trade name Indocin), a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug; Cimetidine (trade name Tagamet), a stomach acid reducer; Promethazine (trade name Phenergan), an anti-nausea drug; and Urised, which is used to treat urinary tract pain.

Hazy or Cloudy
Eating or drinking high-phosphate foods such as milk can also affect the color of urine. The cloudy look is the presence of phosphate crystals. These crystals will disappear once a small quantity of vinegar is added to the urine.

However, having a blurred urine may be a sign of Urinary Tract Infection (UTI). UTI causes white blood cells to be collected and expelled out of the body though the urine. These whitish contents of the blurred urine are pusses, white blood cells containing killed bacterias and viruses which tried to invade your system. UTI may also cause a person an unusual need to pee, aside from a burning sensation during urination.

Another disorder called Proteinuria can make the urine look clurry due to protein build up. (KAT/JAM)