understanding pee colour the varying spectrum

What Does The Colour of Your Pee Tell You?

By AradhyaGiri
Last Updated: 19/10/2021 15:19

Colour has been correlated with symbolisms for as long as one can remember. “Feeling blue” & “seeing red”, there’s colour in everything, reflecting on how we feel and see the world. What if I were to tell you that your urine sample is a reflection on how your body feels?; and it’s colour paves a pathway for your health professional to draw a provisional diagnosis on your health.
The colour of your urine sample plays a vital role in urine analysis done for any specific organ. It’s a low effort physical examination that helps draw significant conclusions early on into testing.

Understanding Pee Colour

Your urine has a normal colour range, anything outside of it could be a warning sign. Depending on what you eat, any medications you’re on, and your hydration levels, urine colors may vary.
When you’re healthy and have an adequate water intake, your urine should fall somewhere between colorless and the color of light straw and honey (a pale yellow - the result of a pigment called urochrome). When you’re dehydrated, your urine becomes more concentrated and turns a darker yellow or amber color. Certain foods, antibiotics, laxatives, medical conditions and dyes can also temporarily turn your urine a different shade.

The Varying Spectrum & What It Says

Here, we list the shifting colour range of pee, it’s significance, and when to consult a doctor.

Colourless or Clear: It means that you’re drinking more than the daily recommended amount of water. While drinking adequate water is a good thing, too much of it can disbalance your body’s electrolyte levels.
Pale Straw-Yellow to a Transparent Yellow: You’re normal, healthy, and well-hydrated.
Dark Yellow to Amber or Honey: It indicates that you need to up your water intake as soon as possible.
Dark Orange, Cola-Coloured or Brown: Either you’re severely dehydrated, or you have a malfunctioning liver. If your urine is persistently of this colour, see a doctor.
Pink to Reddish: Foods like beets, rhubarb and blueberries lead to a pink urine. If you haven’t had these in your diet, a pink/red urine sample usually indicates blood in urine due to conditions like kidney stones, UTIs, prostate problems, etc.
Blue or Green: A very rare genetic disease leads to blue or green urine, usually it’s just a result of some food dye or medication. See a doctor if you continuously urinate in this colour range.
Fizzing or Foaming: It is usually harmless but might indicate the presence of excess proteins in your diet, or a kidney problem. Consult your doctor if foaming of your urine happens all the time.
Cloudy: Most commonly, it is UTIs and kidney stones that make the urine cloudy. You should increase your water intake and call a doctor if along with this you experience fever or chills and pain while urination.

In Conclusion

The colour of your urine is an important parameter in urinalysis. It speaks volumes about the internal equilibrium of the body and could be an early indicator of serious diseases. However, nothing beats the sophistication of a complete urinalysis.
Neodocs Wellness Cards help you track 14 essential urine parameters with a seconds long smartphone based lab test at home yielding quick and accurate results in the palm of your hand.