Although our bladder usually expels a liquid that varies between yellow and light amber –more or less intense depending on the concentration and acidity–, its chromaticism varies when certain circumstances occur. For example, urine looks almost transparent if we have drunk a lot of liquid, and dark amber when we become dehydrated from fevers or burns. Carrot carotene and B vitamins stain it orange . If it is cloudy and milky in color, it contains mucus, white blood cells, bacteria or red blood cells, usually caused by an infection.
On the other hand, the consumption of beets, blackberries and certain medications give the pee a pink, reddish or brown color , although the latter can also warn that we are suffering from hemolytic anemia, a lesion in the kidneys or porphyria. Other diseases alter its color: greenish yellow suggests diabetes , while dark brown indicates acute viral hepatitis or cirrhosis, which generate excess bilirubin. This same molecule can turn urine blue-green, as can the use of artificial colors in food or drugs we eat. And green is indicative of a Pseudomonas bacilli infection.
Photo: Niels Mickers / Wikimedia Commons
