About one to one and a half liters of urine are excreted through the kidneys per day. Most of the time, we pay little attention to the pee – wrongly, because the appearance and smell of the urine can provide important information about the fluid balance and even clues to possible diseases. So it’s worth taking a closer look in the toilet from time to time. We have compiled an overview of the possible significance of changes in urine for you. Urine odor and color play a central role. Urine: This is what the color means
Recognize diseases by the urine
Since ancient times, the so-called urine show was long one of the most important diagnostic methods of medicine. In addition to color, turbidity and odor, the taste was also tested. Thus, as early as the 17th century, diabetes mellitus (“honey-sweet flow”) could be diagnosed. Due to the technical progress of medicine, the mere observation of urine has lost importance today. Nevertheless, conspicuous urine changes can contribute to the early detection of diseases if followed by appropriate examinations.
Composition of urine
Urine consists of 95 percent water. Other components include urea and electrolytes, as well as creatinine, uric acid and other acids, vitamins, hormones and dyes. The composition of urine may be altered due to a variety of factors and may be noticeable by abnormalities in odor and appearance.
What does dark urine mean?
The color of urine naturally changes with the amount you drink. This is because the more fluid you drink, the more dilute and therefore lighter the urine. So a yellow to colorless-transparent urine is usually a sign that you are drinking enough to a lot. However, if the urine color is more reminiscent of amber or if the urine is even brown, you should drink more fluids. If the urine remains dark even though you have increased the amount you drink, a visit to the doctor is advisable.
Discolored urine: possible causes.
A change in urine color can have several causes: Eating certain foods, taking vitamins or medications, and various diseases can cause discoloration of the urine.
- Colorless: Colorless urine occurs naturally with increased fluid intake. However, increased drinking due to intense thirst may indicate diabetes mellitus. Less commonly, water urine retention (diabetes insipdus) is the cause of large amounts of colorless urine: In this disease, the kidneys can not concentrate the urine due to hormonal reasons.
- Neon yellow: taking high doses of vitamin B2 can stain the urine intense yellow. The discoloration is harmless and fades when the drug is discontinued.
- Orange to brown: Orange or brown urine can be a sign of insufficient drinking. But also certain diseases of the liver and bile ducts can be behind it: cause for the dark urine is then an increased excretion of the bile pigment bilirubin. In addition, the antibiotic nitrofurantoin can discolor the urine orange to brown.
- Red: If the urine is red, this may indicate blood in the urine (hematuria). However, even after eating large amounts of beetroot or blackberries, the urine may temporarily appear red. In addition, in the case of muscle damage – for example, after an accident with severe bruising or extreme competitive sports – the muscle protein myoglobin can turn the urine red. Other possible causes of red urine can be taking the antibiotic rifampicin and the metabolic disease porphyria.
- Brown to black: drugs with the active ingredients L-dopa or alpha-methyldopa can strongly darken the urine. Rare causes of brown to black urine color can be the metabolic disease alkaptonuria and a certain form of skin cancer (malignant melanoma) in advanced stages.
- Green or blue: Blue or green urine is rare – possible causes are various drug agents such as amitriptyline, indomethacin, mitoxantrone or propofol, as well as multivitamin preparations, rare genetic diseases or infections.
Cloudy urine? Off to the doctor!
In healthy people, the urine is clear. If it appears cloudy or if there are flakes in the urine, this may indicate an infection or disease of the urinary tract. This is because bacteria, fungal pathogens, red blood cells (erythrocytes) or white blood cells (leukocytes) may appear in the urine and cloud it.Pus (for example, in renal pelvic inflammation) or lipids (such as in nephrotic syndrome) can make the urine appear white.
Foamy urine due to protein
If the urine foams, this may indicate protein in the urine (proteinuria). In some cases, this is harmless: especially in young people, stress, physical exertion or fever can cause protein in the urine. Nevertheless, you should have foamy urine clarified by a doctor. Because in many kidney diseases, the kidneys lose their filtering function for proteins, which is manifested by protein in the urine.
Urine stinks: What could be behind it?
Fresh urine is normally almost odorless. The typical urine odor develops only after the fact due to decomposition with bacteria. Temporary changes in odor are usually harmless and can occur, for example, after eating asparagus, onions or garlic. However, if the urine smells funny permanently, this can be a sign of a disease and should be clarified by a doctor. Here is an overview of possible causes of noticeable urine odor:
- Ammonia: Urinary tract infections caused by certain bacteria, as well as vitamin D deficiency, can cause urine to smell ammonia-like.
- Sweet smell/acetone: When so-called ketones (ketone bodies) occur in the urine, a sweet fruity to sour smell reminiscent of acetone-containing nail polish remover. Cause can be an untreated diabetes mellitus, but also in case of fever, strong physical exertion, long food abstinence, as well as after severe injuries or surgery, ketones can occur in the urine.
- Alcoholic: In alcohol dependence, the urine may take on an alcoholic odor.
- Sulfurous: After eating asparagus, the urine may temporarily smell of sulfur. The reason is the sulfur compound aspartic acid contained in asparagus, whose degradation products are excreted in the urine. Garlic or onions can also make the urine smell of sulfur.
- Foul: If the urine smells like rotten eggs, there may be a tumor or other tissue-destroying process in the urinary tract. Persistent foul urine odor should therefore be clarified by a doctor.
- Fishy: In the rare metabolic disorder trimethylaminuria (“fishy smell syndrome”), the body lacks an enzyme of the liver. Thus, the substance trimethylamine, which smells strongly of fish, can not be broken down and is excreted in the urine, among other things. In women, however, far more often an infection in the genital area is the cause of fishy smell when urinating.
Urine test strips: rapid initial diagnosis.
The urine rapid test (“U-Stix”) is usually the first step in further urine diagnostics. The test strip is dipped into the urine and, after a short time, provides information about important urine constituents by means of a color change. Among other things, leukocytes, erythrocytes, protein, ketones, sugar (glucose) and the pH value in the urine can be detected and conclusions drawn about possible diseases. The test strips are available in pharmacies and can be performed at home. In any case, you should discuss conspicuous results with your doctor.
Pregnant? The urine gives it away!
From about 14 days after the absence of menstruation, a urine test can detect pregnancy. The test indicates whether the hormone hCG (human chorionic gonadotropin), which is produced during pregnancy, is detectable in the urine. By means of urine test, however, the amount of hCG can not be determined – so a statement about how far the pregnancy has progressed is only possible at the gynecologist.
Alcohol and drugs: traces in the urine
In the urine, degradation substances of alcohol and many different intoxicants such as THC (cannabis) can be detected. Depending on the substance and the amount ingested, traces of consumption may still be detectable in the urine for several weeks. Bowel movements: 13 questions and answers
