What kind of problems the body can tell you about the color and smell of urine
Urine can tell you a lot about your body problems
What kind of problems the body can tell you about the color and smell of urine
As doctors say: "Every time we flush the toilet, we remove important information about our own health. And this is not a joke, because when we go to the toilet, we do not even think about the color of our urine today and what it can say.
It is not a secret that when you contact a doctor with a complaint about your health, he first of all asks the patient to take a urine test. It is quite understandable, because the color of urine, its smell, consistency and transparency are important health indicators that can tell a lot about the state of the body. Even without considering the chemical composition, a physician may suspect a disease by appearance alone!
What should be the color of urine in a healthy person, and what internal processes indicate a change in the color of this biological fluid.
Urine is a multi-component biological fluid that consists of 95% water. The remaining 5% are organic substances such as urea, creatine and purine acid, as well as pigments and mineral salts such as phosphates, sulphates and chlorides. In case of imbalance disorders, each of these substances can affect the color, smell or consistency of urine.
In this regard, the transparent, light yellow color of urine indicates good health of its owner and normal water exchange. This color is provided by the normal production of urochrome, a yellow pigment, which is an indicator of proper kidney function.
If we drink a lot of water, the yellow pigment can be diluted, making urine more transparent. On the contrary, if we drink too little water and other liquids, dehydration gradually develops. This may be indicated by the saturated yellow colour of urine. And here is what other colors of this biological liquid say, we will tell you in detail below.
What can the color of urine talk about?
1. Muddy or brown urine
If your urine has become brown or cloudy, it may indicate the development of a urinary tract infection and the appearance of kidney stones. If it is still an infection, in addition to the characteristic color, the urine will have a sharp smell of ammonia, or even a slight sweet smell. All these smells indicate the activity of pathogenic bacteria in the body.
In addition, urinary tract infections will be indicated by frequent urination calls, lower abdominal pain and rubbing, as well as small amounts of urine excreted. In any of these cases, it is worth visiting a doctor and taking tests for infectious agents. You can also download App AssayMe and do the analysis on UTI.
Some people notice the turbidity of urine, which is not in a hurry to inform the doctor, as they believe this problem is trifling. In fact, this is an alarming symptom that indicates an excess of some minerals, in particular, the increased content of calcium or phosphorus in the body. This is a dangerous condition that leads to bone fragility.
Moreover, if during urination, in addition to the cloudy color, you notice an increased foaming of urine, it can indicate a high protein content in the body or problems with the kidneys. If the problem persists for a few days, you should hurry up and report it to your doctor.
2. Red urine
Very often a person gets scared when they see red or pink urine when they urinate. This symptom does not always indicate problems with the body. For example, pink and red may appear a few hours after eating blackberries, rhubarb or beetroot. However, the colour of this biological liquid should return to normal within 24 hours.
If this does not happen, it is much more serious. Redness can occur due to blood particles in the urine, and this situation suggests an infectious disease or kidney stones. In some cases, red urine is the first sign of tumor development in the kidneys or bladder. Men may have red urine due to problems with the prostate gland.
Other reasons for this change in urine colour include mercury poisoning by physicians. By the way, red urine staining can be used to treat TB. In any case, it is better to contact your doctor and find out everything before the unpleasant consequences occur.
3. Orange urine
If your urine is slightly orange, there's nothing to worry about. This is usually a sign of moderate dehydration. Just start drinking more fluids and the symptom will disappear immediately. Other non-hazardous causes of this condition are carrots, pumpkins and parsley, i.e. products containing orange pigments - carotenoids. Some food additives that contain these pigments can also change the colour of urine to orange-yellow.
However, if you have a saturated orange urine color and it is not related to diet or medication, it makes sense to see a doctor. This symptom may indicate problems with the liver or bile ducts. For example, increased bilirubin due to inflammation of the liver or blockage of bile ducts, in the first stages, it is a change in the color of the urine.
In fact, urine of orange color is one of the symptoms of jaundice, which means that it indicates liver problems. Therefore, if you notice a change in the color of urine on the background of pallor feces, as well as yellowing scler eyes and skin, visit your doctor as soon as possible.
4. Brown urine
Dark brown urine is a common phenomenon that does not always indicate a health problem. It is often the result of the use of legumes, aloe vera or rhubarb. Changes the color of urine and the use of certain medications, such as muscle relaxants, laxatives and antimalarial drugs.
Some diseases are also characterized by a change in urine colour to brown. In particular, this color may suggest some liver or kidney diseases, infectious diseases of the genitourinary system, as well as acute hepatitis, cirrhosis of the liver or even oncology of this organ. If such symptoms are caused by the disease, in most cases it is caused by the ingestion of large amounts of bilirubin in the urine.
Brown urine is sometimes the first sign of porphyria, a rare genetic disease associated with a high content of porphyrins in the body and their increased excretion from the urine. Finally, this symptom may appear in people with a rare disease called rhabdomyliosis. In this category of people, urine is colored brown because of the rapid destruction of muscle cells.
5. Green urine
Normally, urine is yellow, and most often tends to change color from transparent to dark yellow. And if you suddenly have a greenish shade of urine, there is a reason to look closely at your own body. However, do not panic at once. Sometimes, in this color urine stains a large amount of asparagus, green beer or other products that have a food dye of green color. Some medicines can also paint urine green. And even diarrhea sometimes manifests itself in this way.
In rare cases, the green color of urine is due to intestinal infection, for example, if the body is affected by proteins. Some bacterial diseases of the urinary system can also cause green urine to appear, which means that you should not postpone your visit to the doctor with this symptom.
6. Neon-yellow urine
Sometimes there are unexplained things happening to the body. After visiting the toilet, a person suddenly notices a bright, neon-yellow color of his urine. In fact, everything is explained quite simply. This unusual color may indicate the use of B vitamins, especially cyanocobalamin (vitamin B12). Don't worry about that. As soon as you stop taking the vitamin complex, the urine color will quickly return to normal.
7. Blue urine
It seems strange, but some people may notice a bluish shade of their urine. As with the greenish shade, blue may appear if you eat products that contain a large amount of blue dye. Blue urine can also be made by medicines that contain such a dye.
However, a bluish shade of this biological liquid may appear for health reasons. For example, some people have hypercalcemia, i.e. excess calcium in the body. In this case, the bluish shade of urine indicates the imbalance of the microelement.
8. Colorless urine
Quite often people notice that their urine has become too transparent and even colorless as water. This suggests that you drink too much water. In other cases, urine transparency is caused by diuretics or alcohol abuse, which also has diuretic properties. Such cases should not cause anxiety, because if you give up alcohol and medicines and limit your water consumption, you will notice that your urine has turned yellow again.
However, if you experience frequent urination impulses that are accompanied by transparency of urine, and this continues for a long time, contact your doctor immediately. Diabetes mellitus can manifest itself with these symptoms. AssayMe equips you with an at-home solution for monitoring ketones and glucose in your urine as well as other indicators of early signs of possible complications of diabetes.
As doctors say: "Every time we flush the toilet, we remove important information about our own health. And this is not a joke, because when we go to the toilet, we do not even think about the color of our urine today and what it can say.
It is not a secret that when you contact a doctor with a complaint about your health, he first of all asks the patient to take a urine test. It is quite understandable, because the color of urine, its smell, consistency and transparency are important health indicators that can tell a lot about the state of the body. Even without considering the chemical composition, a physician may suspect a disease by appearance alone!
What should be the color of urine in a healthy person, and what internal processes indicate a change in the color of this biological fluid.
Urine is a multi-component biological fluid that consists of 95% water. The remaining 5% are organic substances such as urea, creatine and purine acid, as well as pigments and mineral salts such as phosphates, sulphates and chlorides. In case of imbalance disorders, each of these substances can affect the color, smell or consistency of urine.
In this regard, the transparent, light yellow color of urine indicates good health of its owner and normal water exchange. This color is provided by the normal production of urochrome, a yellow pigment, which is an indicator of proper kidney function.
If we drink a lot of water, the yellow pigment can be diluted, making urine more transparent. On the contrary, if we drink too little water and other liquids, dehydration gradually develops. This may be indicated by the saturated yellow colour of urine. And here is what other colors of this biological liquid say, we will tell you in detail below.
What can the color of urine talk about?
1. Muddy or brown urine
If your urine has become brown or cloudy, it may indicate the development of a urinary tract infection and the appearance of kidney stones. If it is still an infection, in addition to the characteristic color, the urine will have a sharp smell of ammonia, or even a slight sweet smell. All these smells indicate the activity of pathogenic bacteria in the body.
In addition, urinary tract infections will be indicated by frequent urination calls, lower abdominal pain and rubbing, as well as small amounts of urine excreted. In any of these cases, it is worth visiting a doctor and taking tests for infectious agents. You can also download App AssayMe and do the analysis on UTI.
Some people notice the turbidity of urine, which is not in a hurry to inform the doctor, as they believe this problem is trifling. In fact, this is an alarming symptom that indicates an excess of some minerals, in particular, the increased content of calcium or phosphorus in the body. This is a dangerous condition that leads to bone fragility.
Moreover, if during urination, in addition to the cloudy color, you notice an increased foaming of urine, it can indicate a high protein content in the body or problems with the kidneys. If the problem persists for a few days, you should hurry up and report it to your doctor.
2. Red urine
Very often a person gets scared when they see red or pink urine when they urinate. This symptom does not always indicate problems with the body. For example, pink and red may appear a few hours after eating blackberries, rhubarb or beetroot. However, the colour of this biological liquid should return to normal within 24 hours.
If this does not happen, it is much more serious. Redness can occur due to blood particles in the urine, and this situation suggests an infectious disease or kidney stones. In some cases, red urine is the first sign of tumor development in the kidneys or bladder. Men may have red urine due to problems with the prostate gland.
Other reasons for this change in urine colour include mercury poisoning by physicians. By the way, red urine staining can be used to treat TB. In any case, it is better to contact your doctor and find out everything before the unpleasant consequences occur.
3. Orange urine
If your urine is slightly orange, there's nothing to worry about. This is usually a sign of moderate dehydration. Just start drinking more fluids and the symptom will disappear immediately. Other non-hazardous causes of this condition are carrots, pumpkins and parsley, i.e. products containing orange pigments - carotenoids. Some food additives that contain these pigments can also change the colour of urine to orange-yellow.
However, if you have a saturated orange urine color and it is not related to diet or medication, it makes sense to see a doctor. This symptom may indicate problems with the liver or bile ducts. For example, increased bilirubin due to inflammation of the liver or blockage of bile ducts, in the first stages, it is a change in the color of the urine.
In fact, urine of orange color is one of the symptoms of jaundice, which means that it indicates liver problems. Therefore, if you notice a change in the color of urine on the background of pallor feces, as well as yellowing scler eyes and skin, visit your doctor as soon as possible.
4. Brown urine
Dark brown urine is a common phenomenon that does not always indicate a health problem. It is often the result of the use of legumes, aloe vera or rhubarb. Changes the color of urine and the use of certain medications, such as muscle relaxants, laxatives and antimalarial drugs.
Some diseases are also characterized by a change in urine colour to brown. In particular, this color may suggest some liver or kidney diseases, infectious diseases of the genitourinary system, as well as acute hepatitis, cirrhosis of the liver or even oncology of this organ. If such symptoms are caused by the disease, in most cases it is caused by the ingestion of large amounts of bilirubin in the urine.
Brown urine is sometimes the first sign of porphyria, a rare genetic disease associated with a high content of porphyrins in the body and their increased excretion from the urine. Finally, this symptom may appear in people with a rare disease called rhabdomyliosis. In this category of people, urine is colored brown because of the rapid destruction of muscle cells.
5. Green urine
Normally, urine is yellow, and most often tends to change color from transparent to dark yellow. And if you suddenly have a greenish shade of urine, there is a reason to look closely at your own body. However, do not panic at once. Sometimes, in this color urine stains a large amount of asparagus, green beer or other products that have a food dye of green color. Some medicines can also paint urine green. And even diarrhea sometimes manifests itself in this way.
In rare cases, the green color of urine is due to intestinal infection, for example, if the body is affected by proteins. Some bacterial diseases of the urinary system can also cause green urine to appear, which means that you should not postpone your visit to the doctor with this symptom.
6. Neon-yellow urine
Sometimes there are unexplained things happening to the body. After visiting the toilet, a person suddenly notices a bright, neon-yellow color of his urine. In fact, everything is explained quite simply. This unusual color may indicate the use of B vitamins, especially cyanocobalamin (vitamin B12). Don't worry about that. As soon as you stop taking the vitamin complex, the urine color will quickly return to normal.
7. Blue urine
It seems strange, but some people may notice a bluish shade of their urine. As with the greenish shade, blue may appear if you eat products that contain a large amount of blue dye. Blue urine can also be made by medicines that contain such a dye.
However, a bluish shade of this biological liquid may appear for health reasons. For example, some people have hypercalcemia, i.e. excess calcium in the body. In this case, the bluish shade of urine indicates the imbalance of the microelement.
8. Colorless urine
Quite often people notice that their urine has become too transparent and even colorless as water. This suggests that you drink too much water. In other cases, urine transparency is caused by diuretics or alcohol abuse, which also has diuretic properties. Such cases should not cause anxiety, because if you give up alcohol and medicines and limit your water consumption, you will notice that your urine has turned yellow again.
However, if you experience frequent urination impulses that are accompanied by transparency of urine, and this continues for a long time, contact your doctor immediately. Diabetes mellitus can manifest itself with these symptoms. AssayMe equips you with an at-home solution for monitoring ketones and glucose in your urine as well as other indicators of early signs of possible complications of diabetes.