We all know that health is one of the most crucial aspects of everyone’s life. Your good or bad health defines your entire lifestyle. Likewise, many factors exactly define what conditions your body is going through. There are many reasons for a body to malfunction or indicate one’s health issue. One of the main indicators of health problems is your urine colour. Urine colour plays an important role in highlighting one’s health situation.
Doctors and paramedics actively test urine to know certain developments happening inside your body. Urine has been a major diagnostic tool for medical experts. It is used to carry out a study about body functioning, medicinal development, and a lot more.
Urine contains about 95% of water and the rest is a mix of various organic and inorganic components. Urine colour defines what your body is going through. Let us have a detailed look at how your urine colour and smell can tell a lot about your medical health.
What Colour is Considered a Normal Urine Colour?
If one drinks a lot of water, then the colour of urine is usually transparent urine. However, healthy and normal urine is something that is generally pale yellow in colour. And this colour comes from a pigment named urochrome. Do note that the yellowish colour can vary from person to person. If an individual drinks less water, his/hers urine may be dark yellow urine to gold colour. Bright yellow urine indicates that you are taking vitamin B supplements.
Types of Urine Colour and Their Causes
Urine colour can vary in many ways and each type of urine colour says something about the individual body’s health.
- Clear, transparent urine – This indicates the body is highly hydrated and is considered to be normal urine colour.
- Pale or dark yellow urine or light gold – this is also normal urine and it happens due to the pigment called urochrome.
- Red urine – this urine tone takes place due to eating food like beetroot, blueberries, etc. However, if the red colour of urine remains for a long time, then it is an indication of enlarged prostate, stones, and tumours in the kidneys.
- Light orange – this urine tone indicates the body is dehydrated. Continuous dehydration in the body can also lead to deeper orange colour. In some cases, the colourant can also become brown or dark brown.
- Blue or green urine – according to many medical experts, this bluish colour highly indicates a genetic disorder called Hypercalcemia. Hypercalcemia is a term used when there is high calcium content in blood. The green colour may suggest bacterial infection or consumption of some medications.
The table below shows the urine colour, possible causes associated with it, and what it indicates in general.
| Colour | Causes | What it Means |
| Pale or Dark Yellow Urine | None | Considered normal |
| Red or Pink | Possible kidney problem, stone, cancer, or urinary tract infection | If the diet has beets, blueberries or rhubarb, then the red colour is normal otherwise it’s a concern and the individual need to visit the medical expert |
| Blue or green | Possible Hypercalcemia | It is a genetic disorder mostly |
| Orange, brown | Dehydration | Considered normal, individual needs to drink water and get back to normal colour |
| Transparent | Hydrated | Considered a normal and healthy individual |
Other Types of Urine Issues
- Cloudy urine is mostly found in people who have been diagnosed with urinary tract infections or stones found in the kidney. Sometimes, it could also be due to dehydration and it depends from person to person.
- Fizzy and foamy urine can happen due to many reasons. One is due to excessive protein excreted in the urine, which may indicate sign of kidney damage. In this case, consulting your doctor is the best solution.
Why Does Urine Smell?
Technically, urine does not have a foul smell but in some cases, you can encounter a very bad or foul smell coming from your pee. And generally smell coming from your pee is the indication of some problem going on in your body that needs to be looked at.
Certain food items can also lead to a foul smell. For example, if you consume B6 supplements for health benefits, it is most likely that your pee will smell somewhat like ammonia. Likewise, if you consume asparagus, your urine is most likely to smell like a sulphur substance.
It is also said if your pee is dark yellow and has a fruity smell, then chances are that you have a diabetic condition taking place inside your body. High sugar content is the reason for this.
When Should You Consult a Doctor?
- Consult a doctor when you find blood in your pee. Red is one of the most concerning urine colours so far. As you find red colour in your pee for a long time, immediately consult your doctor.
- When you have difficulty peeing, this could be a sign of urinary tract infection or prostate cancer. Consult your nearest doctor instantly.
- If you generally see your urine colour change to orange, it is an indication of liver malfunctioning or unusual liver functioning.
- If your toilet is found to be attacked by ants time and again it is a chance, you have diabetes. Check your sugar levels and consult the doctor immediately.
Conclusion
Urine colour and smell have a lot to tell about one’s medical health. Do remember that each of our biological bodies has different aspects and colours of your pee and indications vary depending on what you have consumed or what is your medical history. Urine colour, what you eat, your medical history, etc. define the overall process.
Never neglect your urine colour. It is highly recommended to take action when you find your pee cycle changing and disturbing your overall health and well-being.
