What your urine reveals about your health

About one to one and a half litres of urine are excreted daily through the kidneys. Most of the time, we pay little attention to the pee – wrongly so because the appearance and smell of the urine can provide important information about the fluid balance and even indications of possible diseases.

So, it’s worth taking a closer look at the toilet occasionally. We have compiled an overview of the possible significance of changes in urine for you. Urine smell and colour play a central role.

Identify diseases in urine.

Since antiquity, the so-called urine examination has long been one of medicine’s most important diagnostic methods. In addition to colour, cloudiness and smell, the taste was also tested. Diabetes mellitus (“honey-sweet flow”) was diagnosed early in the 17th century.

Due to the technical progress of medicine, the mere observation of urine has lost its importance today. Nevertheless, conspicuous urine changes can contribute to the early detection of diseases if appropriate examinations follow.

 

composition of urine

Urine consists of 95 per cent water. Other components are urea, electrolytes, creatinine, uric acid and other acids, vitamins, hormones and dyes. 

The composition of the urine can be changed due to various factors and become noticeable through abnormal smell and appearance. 

What does dark urine mean?

The colour of the urine changes naturally with the amount you drink. Because the more liquid you drink, the more diluted and, therefore, lighter the urine. Yellow to colourless-transparent urine usually indicates that you drink enough a lot.

However, if the urine is more amber-like or brown, you should drink more fluids. If the urine remains dark even though you have increased the amount you drink, it is advisable to consult a doctor. 

 

Discolored urine: possible causes

A change in the colour of urine can have various causes: Eating certain foods, taking vitamins or medications, and various illnesses can cause the urine to change colour.

• Colorless: Colorless urine occurs naturally with increased fluid intake. However, drinking too much water due to extreme thirst can be an indication of diabetes mellitus. Water urinary dysentery (diabetes insipdus) is less common and is the cause of large amounts of colorless urine: In this disease, the kidneys cannot concentrate the urine due to hormonal reasons.
• Neon yellow: Taking high doses of vitamin B2 can turn the urine intensely yellow. The discoloration is harmless and goes away when you stop taking the product.
• Orange to brown: Orange or brown urine can be a sign that you are not drinking enough. But certain diseases of the liver and bile ducts can also be behind it: the cause of the dark urine is 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 be an indication of Blood in the urine (hematuria) be. However, even after eating large quantities of beetroot or blackberries, the urine may temporarily appear red. In addition, if there is 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 include taking the antibiotic rifampicin and the metabolic disease porphyria.
• Brown to black: Medicines with the active ingredients L-dopa or alpha-methyldopa can turn the urine very dark. Rare causes of a brown to black urine color can be the metabolic disease alkaptonuria as well as a certain form of skin cancer (malignant melanoma) be in an advanced stage.
• Green or blue: Blue or green urine is rare – possible causes include various active pharmaceutical ingredients 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 there are flakes in the urine, this could be an indication of an infection or disease of the urinary tract. Bacteria, fungal pathogens, red blood cells (erythrocytes) or white blood cells (leukocytes) can appear in the urine and cloud it. Pus (for example in cases of pyelonephritis) or lipids (for example in nephrotic syndrome) can make the urine appear white.

Foamy urine due to protein

If the urine foams, this may be an indication of protein in the urine (proteinuria). In some cases this is harmless: especially in young people, stress, physical exertion or fever can lead to protein in the urine.

However, you should have foamy urine checked by a doctor. Because in many kidney diseases the kidneys lose their filtering function for proteins, which manifests itself through protein in the urine.

 

Urine stinks: what could be behind it?

Fresh urine is usually almost odorless. The typical smell of urine only arises later through decomposition with bacteria. Temporary changes in smell are usually harmless and can occur, for example, after eating asparagus, onions or garlic occur.

However, if the urine smells strange all the time, this could be a sign of illness and should be checked by a doctor. Here you will find an overview of possible causes for a noticeable smell of urine:

• Ammonia: In the case of urinary tract infections caused by certain bacteria and vitamin D deficiency, the urine can smell ammonia-like. .
• Sweet smell/acetone: When so-called ketones (ketone bodies) occur in the urine, a sweetish smell occurs -Fruity to sour smell, reminiscent of nail polish remover containing acetone. The cause can be untreated diabetes mellitus, but ketones can also appear in the urine during fever, heavy physical exertion, long periods of fasting and after serious injuries or operations.
• Alcoholic: If you are addicted to alcohol, your urine may take on an alcoholic smell.
• Sulphurous: After eating asparagus, urine may temporarily smell of sulphur . The reason is the sulfur compound asparagusic acid contained in asparagus, the breakdown products of which are excreted in the urine. Garlic or onions can also make urine smell like sulfur.
• Rotten: If the urine smells like rotten eggs, there may be a tumor or another tissue-destroying process in the urinary tract. Any persistent foul smell of urine should be checked by a doctor.
• Fishy: In the rare metabolic disease trimethylaminuria (“fishy smell syndrome”), the body lacks an enzyme from the liver. As a result, the substance trimethylamine, which smells strongly of fish, cannot be broken down and is excreted in the urine, among other things. In women however, an infection in the genital area is much more likely to be the cause of a fishy smell when urinating.

Urine test strips: quick 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 components of the urine by changing color.

Among other things, leukocytes, erythrocytes, proteins, ketones, sugar (glucose) and the pH value can be detected in the urine and conclusions can be drawn about possible diseases. The test strips are available at pharmacies and can be done at home. You should always discuss any abnormal results with your doctor.

Pregnant? The urine reveals it!

From around 14 days after the absence of menstruation, pregnancy can be detected with a urine test. The test shows whether the hormone hCG (human chorionic gonadotropin) produced during pregnancy can be detected in the urine.

However, the amount of hCG cannot be determined using a urine test – so only a gynaecologist can say how far the pregnancy has progressed.

 

Alcohol and drugs: traces in the urine

Breakdowns of alcohol and many different intoxicants, such as THC ( cannabis ), can be detected in the urine. Depending on the substance and the amount of the active ingredient ingested, traces of consumption can still be detectable in the urine for a few weeks.