Pink, Red, Brown, or Blue Colored Urine: Causes and Treatment

Has your urine changed color for no apparent reason?  Don’t worry.  Some things can change the color of your urine.  Urine is the liquid secreted by the kidneys, which filter waste (urea) and excessive water.  The liquid and waste pass from the kidneys to the bladder, which stores urine until full, created the urge to go to the bathroom.  Generally urine is the color of yellow straw, sometimes more yellow than not.

If your urine has changed color for one or two days, you should consider the following possible reasons:

• Coloring used in food.
• Some natural foods have strong colors, like beets, carrots, etc.
• Medications

Conditions that could change the color of your urine

• Hepatitis
• Acute cystitis
• Kidney stones
• Prostate cancer
• Kidney diseases, like acute glomerulonephritis, Pyelonephritis, etc.
• Acute tubular necrosis
• Carcinoma of the bladder or renal cells
• Acute unilateral obstructive uropathy
• Alport syndrome
• Chronic glomerulonephritis

Cloudy or milky urine: This could be caused by a urinary tract infection, especially if it has an unpleasant odor.  This could also be attributed to the presence of bacteria, fats, crystals, white or red blood cells, or mucus in the urine.

Dark brown urine: This could be caused by a liver disorder, be it cirrhosis, acute or viral hepatitis, etc.

Pink, red, or light brown urine: Most likely, you have eaten some sort of food with certain coloring, generally blackberries, carrots, beets, etc.  These foods cause pigmentation in the urine, as well as certain artificial colorings in foods or sweets.

Other causes or diseases that could cause this color of urine include: Damage to the kidneys or urinary tract, cystitis or an inflamed prostate, which coiuld cause interior bleeding which is seeped out into the urine.  Bladder stomes, Wilms tumor, or hypernephroma.

Dark yellow or orange colored urine: Caused by taking B complex vitamins or carotenes, as well as some medications, like phenazopyridine.

Green or blue urine: Artificial food coloring, some pharmaceuticals (like methylene blue), excessive bilirubin in the body, urinary tract infections, etc.

What should I do if my urine changes color?

• If your urine changes in color, we recommend that you wait one or two days to see if it goes back to normal.  Generally the color of your urine will return to normal once the coloring, the medication, or the food you consumed has been removed.  In this case, we recommend that you avoid artificial colorings that are included in foods, especially sweets and pastries.  These are very irritating to the kidneys.
• If you notice that your urine continues to be some color other than straw-yellow, check to see if you are taking some sort of medication that may change the color of your urine, or if you’re eating a lot of beets, carrots, etc.  You don’t need to stop eating these foods, especially if they are natural.  Just make sure you don’t experience any other symptoms, like pain in any area of the body, cramps in the kidneys, etc.
• If your urine is very yellow, or dark brown, and your eyes and skin are also yellow, it is important that you think about going to the doctor.  Most likely this is caused by hepatitis.  Try to eat a diet including fruits, like papaya, mango, etc.
• If you notice that you urine continues to be discolored and you are not taking any medications, and this appears to happen for no apparent reason, it’s best to see a doctor.  We recommend seeing a naturopath so they can help you to heal your body with a balanced diet and possibly some sort of energetic or emotional work, if necessary.

General recommendations for urine

Always remember to drink at least two liters of fresh water a day to make your urine light, and to be able to get rid of toxins and harmful substances in the body.  Also, try to go to the bathroom as soon as you get the urge, don’t hold it.  Try to urinate as soon as you feel the need to avoid wasting your bladder, kidneys and accumulated toxins in the body.

Whenever possible, avoid medications, which cause wear and tear on the kidneys, irritating them, along with several other important bodily functions.  Using too many medications is truly damaging to health.  Remember that natural medicine not only helps heal the body, but it also helps it to completely all of its normal functions, and to eradicate disease.

Revised by: Dra. Loredana Lunadei on 05/16/2018

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