10 Things Your Pee Is Trying to Tell You About Your Health
It might sound strange, but every time you go to the toilet you have a chance to check up on your health. By checking the color of your urine, you can see whether your body is doing well or if you need to see a doctor. Sounds easy, right? Now you just need to know the possible reasons (serious or not) behind each color.
We researched what the color of your urine reveals about your health and suggestions for what you can do. Have you ever seen your urine appear to be one of these colors?
Each person’s liquid waste will look slightly different than someone else’s.
What color should urine be?
Your urine is a mix of water, electrolytes and waste that your kidneys filter out from your blood.
When you’re healthy and hydrated, your urine should fall somewhere between colorless and the color of light straw and honey. When you don’t consume enough fluids, your urine becomes more concentrated and turns a darker yellow or amber color.
The colors are:
1. Transparent color: Colorless urine may indicate over-hydration. While not as dangerous as dehydration, over-hydration can dilute essential salts, such as electrolytes, creating a problematic chemical imbalance in the blood.
2. Pale yellow color: When everything is healthy and normal, your urine should be pale yellow to gold. It is helpful to regularly pay attention to your urine to see what your normal color is, so that you can tell when it is different.
3. Foaming or fizzing
Having foamy urine from time to time is normal and is usually due to the speed of urination. But if it keeps coming back and is more noticeable over time, you should see your doctor.
Foamy or fizzing urine can be a sign of protein in your urine, and this needs professional evaluation as an increased amount can signal a serious kidney problem.
4. Amber or honey colored
Darker urine is your body talking to you. What’s it saying? Basically, you should drink some water.
The darker hue is a sign of mild dehydration. Basically, your urine is a more concentrated mix due to a lower-than-needed level of fluid in your system. This can happen if you’ve been outside sweating on a hot day or just finished a workout.
Refill your tank and the color should go back to normal.
5. Brown urine color:
Brown color in urination could mean you have severe dehydration or a liver condition. If you have melanoma skin cancer, your body may be adding skin pigment in circulation that’s winding up in the liquid waste. Brown urine could be misinterpreted as a very dark red, which could be caused by blood.
6. White or milky urine:
This may be caused by an overabundance of certain minerals, such as calcium or phosphate, a urinary tract infection or excessive proteins.
7. Orange color urine:
Orange urine may mean you are dehydrated and need water. It could also mean you could have a liver or bile duct condition. Another meaning could be you ate large amounts of carrots or carrot juice.
8. Pink to reddish colored
The explanation for this unexpected turn on the color wheel could be as simple as what you ate. If beets, blueberries or rhubarb passed through your lips within the last day or so, you may be seeing the results.
If you haven’t eaten anything like that, though… well, there may be a reason for concern. Pink or reddish urine could be a sign of:
Blood in your urine.
Kidney disease.
Cancers of the kidney or bladder.
Kidney stones.
A urinary tract infection.
Prostate problems.
Lead or mercury poisoning.
Contact your doctor as soon as possible if the color doesn’t return to yellow.
9. Black urine color:
Some medications darken urine too. More worrisome, however, are potential causes like copper or phenol poisoning or melanoma, which can result in blackish urine called melanuria. See your doctor.
10. Green or blue urine color:
A green or blue color in the urine is not very common. It could be caused by a rare genetic disease or a bacteria causing a urinary tract infection. But most likely it is caused by medication or foods in something you ate.
Source:brightside.me, health.clevelandclinic.org, thetalk.ng
