Colors Of Urine Explained

• BLUE/GREEN
  Certain medications such as urolene blue, urised and trac which are used to reduce symptoms of urinary tract infections contain a blue dye (e.g. methylene blue) which will color urine blue or green.

  Familial hypercalcemia is a rare inherited disorder that causes high calcium. Children with this condition, nicknamed the “blue diaper syndrome”, has blue urine.
  Source : Drummond KN et al “The blue diaper syndrome: familial hypercalcemia with nephrocalcinosis and indicanuria. A new familial disease, with definition of the metabolic abnormality.” American Journal of Medicine (1964) 37:928-948

  Asparagus can make urine green and smelly.

• BROWN/BLACK
  Brown or black urine (not due to myoglobin or bilirubin) may be caused by excessive L-dopa (a drug used to slow down the progression of Parkinson’s disease) or melanin (the pigment that colors eyes, skin and hair) excretion. Can also be caused by copper or phenol poisoning.
  Source : Slawson M “Thirty-three drugs that discolor urine and/or stools” RN (Jan 1980) 43(1):40-1

  Taking in large amounts of rhubarb, fava beans, or aloe can turn urine dark brownish black.
  Source : Noll WW et al “Causes of dark urine” Journal of the American Medical Association (1980) 243(23):2398

• RED/ORANGE/YELLOW
  Phenazopyridine hydrochloride (Brand names : Pyridium, Pyridiate, Pyridium, Urodine, Urogesic, Viridium), prescribed for bladder infections is a urinary anesthetic. The phenazopyridine can color the urine reddish orange.

  Rifampin (to treat all forms of tuberculosis), sulfasalazine (to treat ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s disease), Vitamin B2 (riboflavin), Vitamin C, multivitamins (which contains riboflavin) and carrots can contribute to the dark yellow to orange look.

  Beets and blackberries can turn urine red due to the presence of anthrocyanin, a flavonoid.

  Urates in babies stain the diaper orange-to-red.

  If the urine color displays a concentrated, bold yellow hue, it clearly indicates that the body is dehydrated and is in need of water.

  The presence of myoglobin (a red iron-containing protein pigment) from broken down muscle cells will give a brownish-red color. Often associated with ischemic muscle damage, crush injuries and after vigorous exercise. The presence of hemoglobin (an iron-containing respiratory pigment) from broken down red blood cells will color urine red.

  The pigment bilirubin turns the urine yellow or brown in color.

• WHITE
  White or cloudy urine is often a result of phosphaturia, the precipitation of phosphate crystals in the urine. Phosphaturia can occur after a meal or after drinking a large quantity of milk.

  Crystals from uric acid or pus (consisting of white blood cells) from a urinary tract infection can also make urine cloudy.

  A bacterial infection can turn urine cloudy as well.

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