No one likes to talk about urine openly, but the color, consistency and smell of your urine can say a lot about your health. These factors are a mirror of what you consume as well as your health condition.
Urine is made up of 95% water and other substances such as urea, creatinine and organic and inorganic compounds. The usual color of the urine is yellow due to the presence of urobilin, a biochemical by-product of the breakdown of old red blood cells.
Here’s a color chart for your urine and what it reflects:
1.Transparent urine
If your urine is transparent like water, it is probably caused by over hydration. This is not as problematic as dehydration, but too much water in the body may water down electrolytes and cause chemical imbalance.
2.Light yellow urine
This is the normal color of the urine and means that you’re well hydrated.
3.Cloudy urine
If your urine is cloudy and dirty, it means that you’re suffering from a bladder infection. The cloudiness is caused by mucus, tissues and protein that are broken down and merging.
4.Medium yellow urine
If your urine looks like lemonade, you are facing a slight case of dehydration.
5.Dark yellow urine
This is a sign of moderate dehydration – start drinking water or some tea immediately. The color might be caused by excess vitamin B in the body.
6.Orange urine
This indicates serious dehydration or excess bilirubin in the body. Bilirubin is an orange by-product of old red blood cell breakdown which can give your urine an unusual color. The orange color of your urine may also be caused by gallstones which obstruct your bile duct or due to liver disease. Some drugs may also be responsible.
7.Pink urine
Your urine may turn pink if you ate a lot of beets, but it also may be caused by a drop of blood, which requires a trip to the urologist. Pink urine is often an early indication of bladder cancer of infection.
8.Darker pink urine
Slightly darker pink urine means that there’s more than a drop of blood in the liquid. This may be a sign of a serious bladder infection or bladder cancer, as well as kidney or gallbladder stones.
9.Dark pink urine
If your urine has the color of red wine, it means that there’s a substantial amount of blood in the liquid which is a big cause of concern. This shows that the bleeding has been present for a while and needs to be checked by a professional.
10.Brown urine
If your urine looks like Coke, it may be caused by some drugs or consuming fava beans or rhubarb. Brown urine may also be a sign of liver and kidney disorders or a result from too much exercise. When you exercise, your muscles use myoglobin to catch oxygen for energy, but if you strain yourself too much and trigger muscle damage, the myoglobin will leak into the blood stream and find its way to the urine, giving it the appearance of Coke. In this case, you should ask for a myoglobin urine test to determine the severity of the problem.
11.Blue or green urine
If your urine looks like a Jello shot, it is due to negative effects from medications such asUribel. This drug contains a compound called methylene blue which makes your urine blueish. It’s nothing serious, but you should drink more water in order to dissolve the color.
Here’s a chart that shows what your urine color means:
