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What color is your pee when you have a kidney infection?

Some liver and kidney disorders and some urinary tract infections can turn urine dark brown.

mayoclinic.org - Urine color - Symptoms and causes - Mayo Clinic

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Overview

Normal urine color ranges from pale yellow to deep amber — the result of a pigment called urochrome and how diluted or concentrated the urine is. Pigments and other compounds in certain foods and medications can change your urine color. Beets, berries and fava beans are among the foods most likely to affect the color. Many over-the-counter and prescription medications give urine vivid tones, such as red, yellow or greenish blue. An unusual urine color can be a sign of disease. For instance, deep red to brown urine is an identifying characteristic of porphyria, a rare, inherited disorder of red blood cells.

Symptoms

Normal urine color varies, depending on how much water you drink. Fluids dilute the yellow pigments in urine, so the more you drink, the clearer your urine looks. When you drink less, the color becomes more concentrated. Severe dehydration can produce urine the color of amber. But urine can turn colors far beyond what's normal, including red, blue, green, dark brown and cloudy white.

When to see a doctor

Seek medical attention if you have:

Visible blood in your urine. Bloody urine is common in urinary tract infections and kidney stones. These problems usually cause pain. Painless bleeding might signal a more-serious problem, such as cancer. Bloody urine is common in urinary tract infections and kidney stones. These problems usually cause pain. Painless bleeding might signal a more-serious problem, such as cancer. Dark or orange urine. If your urine is dark or orange — particularly if you also have pale stools and yellow skin and eyes — your liver might be malfunctioning. There is a problem with information submitted for this request. Review/update the information highlighted below and resubmit the form. From Mayo Clinic to your inbox Sign up for free, and stay up to date on research advancements, health tips and current health topics, like COVID-19, plus expertise on managing health. Email ErrorEmail field is required ErrorInclude a valid email address Learn more about Mayo Clinic’s use of data. To provide you with the most relevant and helpful information, and understand which information is beneficial, we may combine your email and website usage information with other information we have about you. If you are a Mayo Clinic patient, this could include protected health information. If we combine this information with your protected health information, we will treat all of that information as protected health information and will only use or disclose that information as set forth in our notice of privacy practices. You may opt-out of email communications at any time by clicking on the unsubscribe link in the e-mail. Subscribe! Thank you for subscribing! You'll soon start receiving the latest Mayo Clinic health information you requested in your inbox. Sorry something went wrong with your subscription Please, try again in a couple of minutes Retry

Causes

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Female urinary system Open pop-up dialog box Close Female urinary system Female urinary system Your urinary system includes the kidneys, ureters, bladder and urethra. The urinary system removes waste from the body through urine. The kidneys are located toward the back of the upper abdomen. They filter waste and fluid from the blood and produce urine. Urine moves from the kidneys through narrow tubes to the bladder. These tubes are called the ureters. The bladder stores urine until it's time to urinate. Urine leaves the body through another small tube called the urethra. Male urinary system Open pop-up dialog box Close Male urinary system Male urinary system Your urinary system includes the kidneys, ureters, bladder and urethra. The urinary system removes waste from the body through urine. The kidneys are located toward the back of the upper abdomen. They filter waste and fluid from the blood and produce urine. Urine moves from the kidneys through narrow tubes to the bladder. These tubes are called the ureters. The bladder stores urine until it's time to urinate. Urine leaves the body through another small tube called the urethra. Discolored urine is often caused by medications, certain foods or food dyes. In some cases, though, changes in urine color can be caused by specific health problems. The color categories here are approximate, because what looks like red to you might look like orange to someone else.

Red or pink urine

Despite its alarming appearance, red urine isn't necessarily serious. Red or pink urine can be caused by: Blood. Factors that can cause urinary blood (hematuria) include urinary tract infections, an enlarged prostate, cancerous and noncancerous tumors, kidney cysts, long-distance running, and kidney or bladder stones. Factors that can cause urinary blood (hematuria) include urinary tract infections, an enlarged prostate, cancerous and noncancerous tumors, kidney cysts, long-distance running, and kidney or bladder stones. Foods. Beets, blackberries and rhubarb can turn urine red or pink. Beets, blackberries and rhubarb can turn urine red or pink. Medications. Rifampin (Rifadin, Rimactane), an antibiotic often used to treat tuberculosis, can turn urine reddish orange — as can phenazopyridine (Pyridium), a drug that numbs urinary tract discomfort, and laxatives containing senna.

Orange urine

Orange urine can result from:

Medications. Medications that can turn urine orange include the anti-inflammatory drug sulfasalazine (Azulfidine); phenazopyridine (Pyridium); some laxatives; and certain chemotherapy drugs. Medications that can turn urine orange include the anti-inflammatory drug sulfasalazine (Azulfidine); phenazopyridine (Pyridium); some laxatives; and certain chemotherapy drugs. Medical conditions. In some cases, orange urine can indicate a problem with your liver or bile duct, especially if you also have light-colored stools. Dehydration, which can concentrate your urine and make it much deeper in color, can also make your urine appear orange.

Blue or green urine

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Blue or green urine can be caused by:

Dyes. Some brightly colored food dyes can cause green urine. Dyes used for some tests of kidney and bladder function can turn urine blue. Some brightly colored food dyes can cause green urine. Dyes used for some tests of kidney and bladder function can turn urine blue. Medications. A number of medications produce blue or green urine, including amitriptyline, indomethacin (Indocin, Tivorbex) and propofol (Diprivan). A number of medications produce blue or green urine, including amitriptyline, indomethacin (Indocin, Tivorbex) and propofol (Diprivan). Medical conditions. Familial benign hypercalcemia, a rare inherited disorder, is sometimes called blue diaper syndrome because children with the disorder have blue urine. Green urine sometimes occurs during urinary tract infections caused by pseudomonas bacteria.

Dark brown or cola-colored urine

Brown urine can result from:

Food. Eating large amounts of fava beans, rhubarb or aloe can cause dark brown urine. Eating large amounts of fava beans, rhubarb or aloe can cause dark brown urine. Medications. A number of drugs can darken urine, including the antimalarial drugs chloroquine and primaquine, the antibiotics metronidazole (Flagyl) and nitrofurantoin (Furadantin), laxatives containing cascara or senna, and methocarbamol — a muscle relaxant. A number of drugs can darken urine, including the antimalarial drugs chloroquine and primaquine, the antibiotics metronidazole (Flagyl) and nitrofurantoin (Furadantin), laxatives containing cascara or senna, and methocarbamol — a muscle relaxant. Medical conditions. Some liver and kidney disorders and some urinary tract infections can turn urine dark brown. Some liver and kidney disorders and some urinary tract infections can turn urine dark brown. Extreme exercise. Muscle injury from extreme exercise can result in pink or cola-colored urine and kidney damage.

Cloudy or murky urine

Urinary tract infections and kidney stones can cause urine to appear cloudy or murky.

Risk factors

Discolored urine that isn't the result of foods or medications could be caused by a medical condition that affects urine color. Factors that put you at risk of medical conditions that can affect urine color include:

mayoclinic.org - Urine color - Symptoms and causes - Mayo Clinic

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