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If you’ve ever looked back at the toilet after going to the bathroom, you may have noticed that your urine looks lighter or darker than normal.
It is well known that clear or light-colored urine is a sign that you are well hydrated, while a darker color may indicate that you need to drink more water. This is because liquids dilute the yellow pigments in urine.
Ashley Pountney, a urology physician assistant at the Mayo Clinic, told DailyMail.com: “When you drink less, the yellow color becomes stronger.”
However, your urine may not be yellow at all. Pountney revealed that urine can turn brown, red, green or even blue.
Experts have revealed that your urine can turn a variety of colors, including green, red, or even blue, due to medications, foods, and underlying health conditions.
And while sometimes this could be because you ate too much asparagus or started taking a new medication, the changing rainbow on your toilet bowl could reveal that you’re exercising too much, have a urinary tract infection (UTI), or could be suffering from problems such as internal bleeding or liver blockages.
‘Please note that colors may appear slightly different to different people. For example, what looks red to you may look orange to someone else,” Ms. Pountney said.
“Talk to your healthcare team if you have concerns, and particularly if you have pain when urinating or dark orange urine, which may be a sign that your liver is not working properly.”
This is what your urine says about your health.
red or pink
Red or pink urine can be worrying. According to Pountney, this is because it is a sign of hematuria, also known as bleeding in the urinary tract.
This is commonly caused by conditions such as an enlarged prostate, kidney stones, and cysts, as these problems can burst blood vessels by putting pressure on the urinary tract.
Men with an enlarged prostate (a small, walnut-shaped organ between the bladder and rectum) may also have difficulty urinating, need to urinate more frequently, or experience incontinence.
Kidney stones and cysts can also cause severe pain and difficulty urinating.
However, bleeding is not always a serious medical problem. Mrs Pountney pointed out drugs such as isoniazid and rifampicin, which are used to treat tuberculosis, as they can cause increased bleeding.
And the blood thinner warfarin, taken by about 20 million Americans, also increases the chances of bleeding.
Additionally, Ms. Pountney pointed out that not all red urine is a sign of blood. “Beets, blackberries and rhubarb can cause urine to turn red or pink,” she said.
Orange
The pigment beta-carotene is responsible for making carrots orange. And eating too many carrots could do the same thing to your urine.
If your urine is orange, it could be due to the anti-inflammatory medications you are taking.
These include over-the-counter treatments such as phenazopyridine, which is sold under the brand name AZO. AZO is used to relieve the symptoms of urinary tract infections and yeast infections, which are caused by an overgrowth of bacteria and fungi in the urinary tract.
This medication contains a red-orange dye that can change the color of your urine.
“Constipation medications can turn urine orange, as can medications that reduce bloating and irritation, and some chemotherapy drugs for cancer,” Ms. Pountney said.
These include sulfasalazine, which is used to treat inflammatory conditions such as ulcerative colitis and rheumatoid arthritis. It has also been shown to turn sweat and tears orange.
Additionally, supplements could be to blame. “Some vitamins, such as A and B-12, can turn urine orange or yellow-orange,” Ms. Pountney said.
These contain beta-carotene, a pigment that makes foods like carrots turn orange. This means that eating a substantial amount of carrots can also turn your urine orange.
However, orange urine could also indicate a more serious problem. “Orange-colored urine can be a sign of a problem with your liver or bile duct, especially if you also have light-colored stools,” Ms. Pountney said.
“Dehydration can also cause urine to appear orange.”
Blue or green
Believe it or not, your urine can turn blue and green.
Pountney said a common cause is dyes used in medical tests.
A common example is methylene blue, a water-based dye used in scans and surgeries to find conditions.
It is also used to treat methemoglobinemia, a rare blood disorder that makes it difficult for red blood cells to carry oxygen to tissues and other cells.
Common signs of methemoglobinemia include pale skin, fatigue, weakness, headache, nausea, vomiting, extreme drowsiness, loss of consciousness, and rapid breathing.
“Some medications for depression, ulcers and acid reflux can turn urine a blue-green color,” Ms. Pountney said.
These include amitriptyline, a common antidepressant, Reglan, which is used to treat nausea, and Cimetidine, an over-the-counter medication for acid reflux.
Ms Pountney also pointed out that the rare familial genetic disorder, benign hypercalcaemia, can cause children to have blue urine.
Dark brown
Ms Pountney told DailyMail.com that eating lots of broad beans, rhubarb and aloe can darken the color of your urine.
If your urine is brown, it could be a sign that you have been consuming vegetables and legumes.
“Eating a lot of fava beans, rhubarb or aloe can cause dark brown urine,” Pountney said.
Additionally, he noted that some medications, “including those used to treat and prevent malaria, constipation, high cholesterol, and seizures,” as well as antibiotics and muscle relaxants, can darken urine.
Some of the most common examples of these include the anticonvulsant Dilantin, the over-the-counter laxative Senna, and the Parkinson’s drug Levodopa.
“Some liver and kidney disorders and urinary tract infections can cause urine to turn a dark brown color,” Ms Pountney said.
For example, a blockage of the bile duct (ducts that carry bile to areas of the digestive system such as the liver and gallbladder) can darken urine.
Although bleeding around the urinary tract can cause red or pink blood, Pountney noted that internal bleeding could darken it to brown or the color of a cola.
And if you exercise too much, it could lead to muscle injuries that cause waste to build up in the body, darkening your urine.