The color and clarity of your pee can tell a lot about your health, so you may want to pay attention to your toilet bowl before flushing. Your doctor may even be able to diagnose certain medical conditions based on the appearance of urine.
• Blood in your urine. According to WebMD, this sign could be a benign symptom caused by intense exercise or medication. Conversely, it could indicate something serious like kidney disease, enlarged prostate, bladder cancer, a urinary infection, or STD.
• Change in color. Eating beets could make urine reddish, while consuming asparagus can turn pee green. Eating carrots causes an orange hue while antacids could make your pee bluish. However, red-tinged pee can mean blood in the urine ─ a sign of a urinary tract infection or kidney stones. Cola- or tea-colored urine can indicate kidney disease. Medications can also change the color of pee. Talk to your doctor if you notice anything unusual about the color of your urine that lasts a few days.
• Funky smell. Different foods, vitamins and medication can all affect the odor of your pee. Not drinking enough water can make it smell stronger. The same thing happens when you take vitamin B-6. Unfortunately, some health conditions like diabetes, bladder infections, and even liver failure can alter the odor of urine. Your doctor can determine if these conditions are present if the smell doesn’t dissipate, says the Cleveland Clinic.
• Changes in the look of pee. Urine should typically be clear. If your pee looks cloudy or foamy, it could indicate an underlying medical condition, such as kidney disease. If your pee looks dark and you aren’t urinating as much as usual, it could mean you are dehydrated.
Although you won’t be able to see it, if you have hyperglycemia, or too much sugar in your blood, it will also show up in urine, which is why a urinalysis should be part of your medical checkups.
Contact your healthcare provider if you have changes in the color, smell or look of your urine that last more than a few days and don’t appear to be caused by food or medication. Your doctor may request a urinalysis to help determine the source of the changes, as well as a blood test to detect potential kidney disease.