Dark urine can be the sign of some alarming diseases.
However, changes in urine color can often indicate less serious causes such as dehydration, taking medications, and eating certain foods.
Urine is a liquid excretion product that can be colorless or slightly yellow.
The ingredients are mainly water and water-soluble waste products derived from normal cell activity.
Urine mainly contains nitrogenous residues such as urea, uric acid and creatinine as well as a small amount of mineral salts and enzymes.
The kidneys filter the blood to extract these liquid waste products, which are then excreted together with water (micturition).
The ureters transport the urine that forms in the kidneys to the bladder, which retains this fluid until it is excreted through the urethra.
Contents
Possible urine colors and their causes
Dark brown urine
Drug
A person may excrete dark brown urine if they take medications such as:
- antimalarials,
- drugs used to treat urinary tract infection,
- laxatives (laxatives) containing cascara,
- some muscle relaxants.
Diseases
Anyone suffering from liver disease such as hepatitis or tyrosinemia (a hereditary disease) can excrete dark brown urine.
Kidney disease called acute glomerulonephritis (in which it is difficult to excrete waste products and excessive fluids) is another cause of brown-colored urine.
If dark urine occurs together with light or white stools, the patient could suffer from gallstones.
Orange or dark yellow urine
Nutrition
Excessive consumption of foods containing vitamin C (such as oranges and carrot juice) can turn urine orange. Taking vitamins from the B complex is another reason why urine becomes dark. In this case, the urine has a dark yellow color.
Low fluid intake
Lack of fluid provokes the concentration of urochromes, which color the urine orange or yellow. Dehydration is thus another common cause of dark yellow urine.
Gastroenteritis can cause these signs because it is a cause of dehydration.
Drug
The color change of urine to dark yellow or orange can be caused by some medications such as:
- phenazopyridine (used to treat urinary tract infection),
- Chemotherapy
- some laxatives,
- Anticoagulants such as Coumadin.
Causes of orange urine are also some liver or bile diseases.
Red or reddish urine
Nutrition
When eating foods that have a natural red color (such as beetroot and blackberries), urine may take on a red or reddish color.
Diseases
Urine that turns red can be caused by some diseases such as:
- urinary tract infection (especially in women),
- kidney diseases,
- Kidney stones
- bladder tumor,
- Kidney.
This happens because these diseases cause bleeding in the urinary tract and thus red blood cells appear in the urine. In fact, in children, hematuria (a disease in which blood appears in the urine) is one of the main causes of red urine.
Urine of green or blue color
Green urine can be a side effect to medications such as amitriptyline and indoxene. It can also occur in people who have eaten too much asparagus or colored foods.
Blue urine may be due to “blue diaper syndrome.”
This is a rare condition in which the color of the urine turns blue.
It is an autosomal recessive metabolic disease that can be seen in infants. It causes a bluish discoloration of the child’s diapers.
Light yellow or transparent urine
Light urine indicates that the state of health is good. You should continue to eat healthy and follow a diet that is suitable for your own body type.
If the urine has no color, this may indicate diabetes insipidus, which causes large amounts of highly diluted urine.
Cloudy or dark urine
Cloudy urine can be caused by an infection, usually from the urinary tract.
Foul-smelling urine confirms a urinary tract infection.
Kidney stones can cause pus in the urine, which then appears cloudy or dark. Gonorrhea (gonorrhea) leads to vaginal discharge or the formation of pus when the penis is affected. This can lead to a severely clouded appearance of urine, reminiscent of dark beer.
In children, cloudy urine may be more serious than in adults.
Possible causes of dark urine
- Dehydration
- Urinary tract infection
- Vitamin supplements or some medications, for example omeprazole
- Kidney infection
- Jaundice (jaundice)
- Hemolytic anemia
- Mononucleosis
- Liver tumor
Dark purple urine
Porphyria is a rare disease that affects the nervous system and/or skin. It is a genetic disease that leads to the formation of chemical substances in the body, so-called porphyrins. One of the many symptoms of this condition is dark purple urine.
Dark urine during pregnancy
During pregnancy, dark urine often occurs, which does not have to be seriously worrying. However, a permanent color change of the urine should be reported to the doctor.
Reasons for dark urine in pregnancy
Since it can also indicate a problem, it is recommended to consult a gynecologist in case of doubt.
One of the main reasons for the color change of urine is dehydration.
This condition is caused by persistent vomiting (especially in the first trimester of pregnancy), which leads to water loss.
This results in a small outflow of concentrated urine, which may appear dark yellow and viscous.
If the excretion is cloudy, it may be caused by a so-called proteinuria. If protein molecules are present that are excreted in the urine, it may have a darker appearance.
This can be observed in women who are in the second or third trimester of pregnancy.
The occurrence of urinary tract infections is very common in pregnant women. Other symptoms may include burning when urinating and a pronounced urge to urinate.
Another common cause is cystitis (or cystitis).
Hematuria (or blood in the urine) is another reason for a dark color.
There is an abnormal increase in the number of red blood cells excreted from the body.
This leads to a brown or reddish discoloration.
The pregnant women eat foods rich in phosphate, for example milk and vegetables (such as asparagus and beetroot).
The phosphate molecules crystallize, are excreted in the urine and thereby cause urine discoloration.
Other causes include kidney infections or sexually transmitted diseases such as gonorrhea.
Symptoms of dark urine
If dark urine is not related to any major health problem, concomitant symptoms do not necessarily have to occur.
Due to dehydration, foul odor may occur because residual nitrogen material is concentrated in the urine.
There may also be a strong and bad odor if the cause of the dark urine is a urinary tract infection.
Usually, a urinary tract infection is characterized by a cloudy and foul-smelling urine.
Cystitis can provoke other symptoms such as:
- frequent urge to urinate,
- pain and burning sensation during micturition,
- Fever.
Causes of foaming urine
Foaming urine in the toilet bowl can cause intense concern. However, this is not necessarily alarming.
Foamy urine in the morning or at any other time can have many reasons such as:
Fast micturition
Foaming urine can occur due to rapid micturition. Sometimes you wait too long before going to the toilet and have a large amount of urine in your bladder. This can lead to hasty urination to empty the bladder as quickly as possible.
The urine stream hits the toilet bowl very quickly, forming foam.
Concentrated urine
If you drink little, a concentrated urine is formed, which can form foam.
Concentrated urine also indicates mild dehydration.
Foaming urine due to a high concentration or dehydration is not serious. To prevent the formation of blisters, you should drink plenty and hydrate the body.
Presence of sperm
The presence of sperm in the urine leads to foamy urine when excreted from the body. As a rule, after sexual intercourse, a small amount of sperm remains in the urethra. However, this amount is insignificant and cannot lead to foaming urine.
On the other hand, with retrograde ejaculation (the bladder sphincter does not work properly), sperm is pressed into the bladder. This can cause foaming urine.
Proteinuria
Proteinuria (or significant amount of protein in the urine) is one of the most common causes of foamy urine.
A small amount of protein is naturally excreted in the urine. However, if this amount is increased, the disease is called proteinuria.
In micturition, when the proteins hit the toilet bowl, they produce foaming urine.
Pregnancy
Sometimes a pregnant woman does not drink enough water and is easily dehydrated. This leads to concentrated urine, which can also foam. However, foaming urine during pregnancy can also be an indication of proteinuria. The presence of protein in the urine may indicate preeclampsia, which is a serious condition.
Urinary tract infection
When microorganisms attack the urinary tract, it causes a urinary tract infection.
This disorder occurs mainly in women.
Kidney problem
Foaming urine is also a symptom of dysfunction or lesion in the kidneys.
Since the kidneys are responsible for filtering, damage to the same disrupts the filtration system.
The kidneys are unable to function adequately and protein enters the urine.
This protein causes foaming urine.
Possible causes of yellow urine in the morning
What causes yellow urine in the morning? The color change of urine indicates some conditions such as jaundice (jaundice) and dehydration.
People who take paracetamol suffer from night sweats, which in turn leads to fluid loss and thus dark urine.
Dehydration
Dehydration is the most common cause of dark yellow urine in the morning.
A person who does not drink enough water suffers from this disorder, especially after jogging, after sports or after exertion.
Heavy sweating can lead to dehydration and dark yellow urine.
Drinking enough water is the most effective and easiest home remedy.
Foodstuff
Eating some foods (for example, asparagus and beans) can cause a dark yellow discoloration of urine.
Eating beetroot can result in purple/reddish urine.
After eating blackberries and rhubarb, you can observe a dark red urine.
Drug
Taking certain pharmaceuticals or supplements can cause dark yellow urine in the morning.
For example, vitamin B supplements and carotene can color urine dark yellow.
The use of some medications (such as derivatives of quinine containing sulfamethoxazole and nitrofurantoin) can cause dark yellow or brown urine.
Diseases
If dark yellow urine is observed, which persists for 3-4 days without taking medication or consuming foods that could change the color of urine, one should immediately consult the doctor. Dark yellow urine may be the symptom of:
- Jaundice
- Cirrhosis
- other liver diseases,
- Cystitis
- Urinary tract infection.
During pregnancy, the reason for dark urine is dehydration due to morning sickness, cystitis, or urinary tract infection. Dark urine is also a symptom of acute renal insufficiency.
Hemolytic anemia may be another cause of darkening of urine.
In hemolytic anemia, an abnormal breakdown of red blood cells causes the expulsion of the same through the urine.
Hematuria (red blood cells that are excreted through the urine and cause a dark yellow or reddish color) may be caused by kidney stones, urinary tract infection, and gallstones. Yellow urine may be due to kidney infection or copper poisoning.
Urine can turn dark yellow due to serious conditions such as melanoma, skin cancer, or other tumor types.
