Urine is a thing that most people do not discuss. We hardly see it as it spins out of sight all the way down the toilet bowl. However, did you know that changes in urine like the color, consistency and odor can offer vital info about your body’s status? Your urine can show what you have eaten, what you have been drinking and what kind of disease you have.
According to Dr. Tomas Griebling, MPH and vice chairman of the Urology Department in the University of Kansas that urine and urinalysis, has been among the means in which physicians look into health.
He also said that from a historical point of view, urinalysis was among the original portals into what is going on with the body. This is because a lot of the elements that is circulating around the body which includes bacteria, excess protein, sugar, and yeast, ultimately end up in the urine. Urine is a significant part of the disposal process of the body. Its role is to take away excess water and water-soluble wastes which the kidneys filter from the blood. The urine’s purpose is mainly to remove the toxins that build up in our body. Urine with discoloration is sometimes due to certain foods, food dye and medications. In a few cases, changes in the color of urine might be due to certain health conditions.
Before you flush, below are some changes in the urine that you should watch out for, and what they may be saying on your health.
Red or Pink Urine
Even with an alarming look, having red urine is not necessarily that serious. Red or pink colored urine may be due to:
• Blood
Reasons that lead to blood in the urine or hematuria include cancerous and noncancerous tumors, enlarged prostate, long distance running, kidney cysts, bladder or kidney stones and urinary tract infection.
• Foods
Like blackberries, beets and rhubarb can result to red or pink colored urine.
• Medications
There are medicines like Rifampin (Rifadin, Rimactane), which is an antibiotic use in treating tuberculosis, can result to having red urine – as with phenazopyridine (Pyridium), a medicine that acts to numb urinary tract distress, and laxative that has senna.
• Toxins
Prolong lead or mercury poisoning can lead to urine turning red.
Orange Urine
• Medications
There are drugs that can make urine turn orange, like rifampin. Anti-inflammatory medicine like the sulfasalazine (Azulfidine); phenazopyridine (Pyridium), which is a medicine that numbs the discomfort in the urinary tract; laxative and specific chemotherapy drugs.
• Medical conditions
In other cases, urine in orange color may indicate liver or bile duct problems, particularly if you are also experiencing light-colored stools. Orange urine may also be due to dehydration, which concentrates your urine and give it a deeper color.
Blue or Green Urine
• Dyes
Some food coloring dyes can lead to green urine. Dyes that are used for tests in bladder and kidney function can make urine color green.
• Medications
Some drugs can turn urine color to blue or green, like including amitriptyline, indomethacin (Indocin) and propofol (Diprivan).
• Medical conditions
Familial hypercalcemia, which is very rare hereditary disorder that is also known as blue diaper syndrome due to the blue colored urine that can be seen in children having the disease. Sometimes green urine may be present due to infection in the urinary tract caused by pseudomonas bacteria.
Dark brown or Tea-Colored Urine
• Food
Eating much aloe, fava beans or rhubarb can result to dark brown urine.
• Medications
There are medications that can darken the color of urine, which includes chloroquine and primaquine, an anti-malarial drug; metronidazole and nitrofurantoin which are antibiotics; laxatives that have cascara or senna and muscle relaxants like Methocarbamol.
• Medical conditions
Some disorders of the liver and kidney can result to dark brown colored urine, as some infections in the urinary tract.
Cloudy or murky urine
Having kidney stones and infections in the urinary tract can make urine look cloudy or murky.
