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Analyse the colour of your pee to learn about your health

Credits : Docteur Tamalou
Analyse the colour of your pee to learn about your health
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We often think of our urine as something disgusting, and given that it concerns the liquid waste that our body expels by peeing, it’s not entirely untrue! However, even if it’s not an overly glamorous subject, we can still learn something from our pee. By interpreting it well, we can learn more about our health than we might have realised. Examining urine has been a technique used by doctors for centuries to find out about their patients’ health. The differences in texture, smell or even colour are the signs our bodies send us that can sometimes indicate problems. Healthy urine is light yellow in colour and doesn’t have a strong smell. If your urine is not like this, here is how to interpret it.

1) Your urine is fairly dark and honey coloured

It can happen that your urine looks darker than usual. This could indicate that you are dehydrated.

Additionally, urine normally serves to eliminate toxins from the body, and holding in your urine for too long may also have caused this darker colour.

2) Your urine is transparent

The colour could be linked to the dilution of the urine: if you drink more, your urine will be diluted and therefore lighter coloured; if you drink less, it will be less diluted and darker. It could be that you are drinking too much water. Overconsumption of water is not good for your kidneys, which find it hard to cope with the amount of water you are inflicting on them. A surplus of water can be difficult to eliminate, and over time, it could cause health problems such as the sodium levels in your blood becoming unbalanced. Consume recommended quantities of water.

3) Your urine is a brown colour, almost the colour of port wine

We may believe that we have simply drunk too much coffee if our urine is brown, but in fact this is not the case. Of course, what we eat influences the colour of our urine (a huge quantity of beans or of rhubarb can cause a brown colour), but once again, the dark colour could be due to a lack of hydration. A brown colour may also indicate that the body is in the middle of fighting off an infection or bacteria. It is important to keep an eye on this and consult your doctor if it continues, to make sure it isn’t signalling an infection or problem in the kidneys or liver.

4) Your urine is foamy and there is a scum like substance in the toilet bowl

If this followed a very urgent need to go for a pee, the presence of foam is understandable. However, if you notice a scum like substance several times in series, this could indicate that your diet is overly rich in protein or that there is a problem with your kidneys -make sure to keep an eye on this. It could also be linked to products you are using which may be causing a reaction.

5) Your urine has a reddish colour

No need to panic immediately, because this could be due to recent consumption of rhubarb, berries, or beetroot…. or even due to certain medications such as laxatives or even antibiotics (with which it is always important to read the information leaflet to avoid nasty surprises!). However, it is important to remain vigilant, because it could also be linked to a urinary infection, renal problems, a problem with the prostate or even a tumour. Therefore, if there is no change and your urine continues to have a reddish colour, consult your doctor immediately to remove any worries and to treat the problem as quickly as possible.

6) Your urine is orange

This could signify a problem in the bile duct or the liver duct. However, before getting stressed out, ask yourself whether it may be linked to dehydration, which is often the primary cause for this colour. Moreover, certain industrial food colourings (like those in certain vitamins) or carotenes can also be linked to this colour. Certain medications can also be responsible, such as rifampicin, an antibiotic.

7)  Your urine is green or blue

The most imaginative among us believe that this is a sign of aliens! But more seriously, be aware that this could be provoked by artificial colourants. Bear in mind also that it could be the first sign of a genetic illness called hypercalcemia. It is important to consult a doctor if this continues, to rule out illness, an infecion or bacteria.

(Us too, we prefer the alien hypothesis, but anyway…!)

8) Your urine is cloudy

This could indicate that you have kidney stones or a urinary tract infection (cystitis). However, your diet could be the cause, or alternatively pregnancy can lead to this cloudy appearance.

Sources : PauseCafein ; PasseportSanté ; Medisite