Urine color

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The color of urine is normally yellowish, clear and of a shade similar to that of beer. Numerous conditions, pathological or otherwise, can alter these chromatic characteristics, giving the urine an unusual appearance.

Non pathological color variations of color

Role of food, drugs and sports

Foods that color urine

Let's start with the simplest and most well-known variable: the amount of liquids introduced with the diet. If you drink a lot it is normal to observe a pale color of urine, more similar to water, while in thirsty conditions you can notice an amber yellow color . In these cases the chromatic alterations depend on the simple dilution or concentration of the main pigment of the urine, called urochrome.

Still among the non-pathological conditions, the color of the urine, as well as their smell, can vary in response to the ingestion of certain foods. The consumption of rhubarb or beetroot, for example, gives the urine shades of reddish . The same is true in the case of stuffing with prickly pears.

An important consumption of pumpkin or carrot juice can give the urine an unusual orange color . The reason lies in the exaggerated intake of carotene, a precursor of vitamin A, which can also lead to carotenosis (yellow coloring of the skin and in particular of the palm of the hands and soles of the feet, but not of the white part of the eyes, condition, this, which distinguishes it from the jaundice).

Finally, as well as giving the urine a characteristic odor, asparagus can change its color to light green .

DRUGS

Urine can take on an unusual color even after taking certain drugs or supplements. Some B vitamins, for example, if taken at high dosage give the urine a bright yellow, almost phosphorescent color. Piramidone and other antirheumatic drugs give the urine a homogeneous and bright pink color .

Some drugs (cascara-based laxatives, phenacetin, fentoina, ibuprofen, methyldopa, rifampicin) give the urine a red color. Others may make it closer to orange, such as the antibiotic rifampin, the anticoagulant coumadin, the phenazopyridine (used in the treatment of micturition disorders), some laxatives and some chemotherapy drugs.

The intake of methylene blue, as an antidote or contrast medium, of the antidepressant amitriptyline, of indomethacin (a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory), of the anti-ulcer cimetidine or of the diuretic triamterene, gives the urine a color varying from green to blue.

Brown shades can be seen after taking the chloroquine and pyrimethamine antimalarials, the metronidazole antibiotic, nitrofurantoin (used as an antibacterial urinary tract disinfectant in urethritis, cystitis etc.), irritant laxatives based on cascara or senna and methocarbamol (a muscle relaxant useful in the presence of muscle spasms).

PHYSICAL EXERCISE

A particularly intense and prolonged physical effort is often associated with hematuria (presence of blood in the urine). The disorder is more frequent among marathon runners and triathletes.

Pathological Color Variations

Diseases and color of urine

The color of the urine is linked above all to the presence of urochrome, a pigment originating from the degradation of hemoglobin.

Red urine

HEMATURY: presence of blood in the urine (kidney stones, bladder stones, inflammation of the bladder, urinary infections, prostatic hypertrophy, kidney diseases, tumors located in the bladder or kidney, abdominal trauma, urethral stenosis, use of anticoagulant drugs).

PORPHYRIA: clinical syndrome (or rather a group of clinical syndromes) that affect the skin and the nervous system; it is accompanied by the emission of dark red urine, similar to wine.

Blue Urine

FAMILY HYPERCALCEMIA or blue diaper syndrome: a rare hereditary disease that significantly increases blood calcium levels.

BREAKAGE OF INTRAGASTRIC BALLOON used in the treatment of obesity

Dark Brown Urine

LIVER DISEASES: in the presence of an abnormal liver function, for example due to acute hepatitis or cirrhosis, the urine may turn dark brown. Even the rare hereditary alkaptonuria and glomerulonephritis disease can lead to the same chromatic alteration.

HEMOLYSIS, HEMOLYTIC CRISIS: like that associated with favism.

MELANOMA: presence of melanin in the urine.

SUPPLEMENTS: bearberry.

Turbine urine, dirty grayish-greenish

URINARY TRACT INFECTIONS and KIDNEY CALCULATIONS: due to the presence of leukocytes (pus), mucus and bacteria.

When to Consult the Doctor

• If murky urine is associated with an urgent need to urinate, pain during urination, fever, weakness, sweating, abdominal pain and nauseating smell, a urinary tract infection is likely.
• If the same symptoms are associated with red urine it could be prostate problems.
• If the urine takes on a dark color, while the skin and eyes turn yellow, it is probably a liver disease. The same applies if the urine appears dark and the stools are clear (probable presence of gallstones).
• If the color of the urine is close to red and is felt, or has recently been felt, an intense and sudden pain in the side, usually on one side only, the presence of kidney stones is probable.