Things like unusual odor and color can be warning signs of deeper medical conditions.
What Your
Pee Can Tell You
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Your Urine and Your Health
You or
your doctor may be able to tell some things about your health simply by looking
at the color of your pee and how clear it is. But a urinalysis, a test of your
urine, can tell a lot more. Your doctor can use it to diagnose or keep an eye
on several health conditions.
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Blood in Your Urine
Call
your doctor right away if you see blood in your urine. It could be caused by
something fairly harmless, like hard exercise or medication. Or it may be
a sign of something more serious like kidney disease, an enlarged prostate,
bladder cancer, or sickle cell anemia.
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A Closer Look
Some
foods and medicines can change the color of your pee. For example, beets can
make it reddish or dark brown, asparagus can make it green, and carrots can
turn it orange. Certain antacids can turn your pee a shade of blue, and some
chemotherapy medicines can make it orange. Sometimes an unusual color can be a
sign of a health problem. Talk to your doctor if your pee suddenly changes
color and you’re not sure why.
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A Closer Smell
Foods,
vitamins, and medication can all change the way your pee smells. For example,
asparagus causes an ammonia-like odor for some people. Your pee also may smell
stronger if you don’t drink enough water or you take vitamin B-6 supplements.
But some health conditions can do it, too. Diabetes, bladder infections, kidney
infections, and liver failure can all change the way your pee smells. Talk to
your doctor if there’s a sudden change and it doesn’t go away.
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Urinary Tract Infection (UTI)
If you
have one of these, your pee may be red or brownish or have spots of red in it.
Or it might be green or cloudy and have a strong smell. UTIs usually happen
because bacteria has gotten into your bladder or your urethra, the tube that
carries pee out of your body. Your doctor can test a sample of your urine to
find out if you have one. If you do, it can be treated with antibiotics.
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Hyperglycemia
This is
when you have too much sugar (glucose) in your blood. High levels of glucose
also can show up in your urine. You can't tell by looking at it, but your
doctor can check by testing a sample. It can be a sign of diabetes and can lead
to heart disease, stroke, kidney disease, blindness, and other problems.
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Diabetes
If your
doctor thinks you might have diabetes, she might test to see if you have things
called ketones in your blood and urine. Your body makes these when it starts to
break down fat for energy because it can’t use sugar for energy like it should.
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Dehydration
If your
pee looks dark and you’re not going as often as usual, that could mean you
don’t have enough water in your body. You also might feel tired, nauseated, or
groggy. Your doctor may test a sample of your urine to see how much water is in
it.
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Pregnancy
A
chemical strip from a drugstore pregnancy kit can test a woman’s urine for a
hormone that will only be there if she’s pregnant (it's called human chorionic
gonadotropin or hCG). The results are most likely to be accurate 5 to 10 days
after a missed period.
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Diabetic Kidney Disease
Foamy
pee can mean you have more protein in your urine than normal. This is often the
earliest sign of this disease, which is the leading cause of kidney failure. It
damages your kidneys’ small blood vessels. That leads your body to hold on to
more salt, water, and waste in your blood than it should. Your doctor can
test your urine for a protein called albumin to find out if you have it.
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Glomerulonephritis
Bloody
or foamy urine can be a sign of this disease. It also can make your face or
ankles swell and cause muscle cramps and itchy skin. It happens when the tiny
filters in one of your kidneys get inflamed. That can make fluid and waste
build up in your body and cause problems like high blood pressure or kidney
failure. Glomerulonephritis can be brought on by several health issues,
including diabetes, an infection, or an autoimmune disease.
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Vasculitis
If this
affects your kidneys, your pee may be tea-colored and you may have a fever and
body aches. It happens when your own antibodies -- which your body makes to
fight germs -- attack the small blood vessels in one of your organs instead. It
may lead to blood and protein in your urine and can make your kidneys stop
working.
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Blockage
If you
can’t go or you feel like you have to go often but don’t pee much when you do,
that can mean something is keeping it from coming out. You may also see blood
in your urine, or it might look cloudy. A blockage can be caused by an enlarged
prostate, kidney stones, bladder cancer, or blood clots, among other
conditions.
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Kidney Stones
If your
doctor thinks you have kidney stones -- when certain minerals form tiny rocks
that block the tubes you use to pee -- she’ll test your urine for calcium and a
certain kind of acid. These tests can also help find problems with your small
intestine, parathyroid glands, or kidneys.
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Lupus
This
disease happens when your immune system mistakenly attacks a certain part of
your body. If it affects your kidneys (lupus nephritis), it can cause bloody or
foamy urine. There’s no cure, and doctors aren’t sure what causes this
condition that mostly affects women.
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Liver or Gallbladder Problems
If your
pee is very dark, something could be going on with one of these organs. Too
much of certain drugs, like acetaminophen (Tylenol), can lead to problems. And
cancer, a stone blocking the way to your gallbladder, viruses like hepatitis C,
and other illness can, too. These issues can cause your body to make a yellow
fluid called bilirubin that turns your pee very dark. And it can leak out of
your liver and into your blood and make your skin and eyes turn yellow (this is
called jaundice). Blood and urine tests can measure your level of bilirubin.
This tool does not
provide medical advice.
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