The color of urine will tell about a variety of diseases, the symptoms of which may not appear outwardly in any way. Urine is a biological fluid that is produced by the kidneys. It is with it that the final decay products, the remnants of medicines, toxic substances, etc. are removed.
Current Issues
If the color of urine has changed, then this is just another confirmation of the development of a pathological process in the body.
In a he althy person, it has a light yellow tint, reminiscent of the color of straw. Depending on how saturated the cells are with water, the shade may be slightly darker or lighter.
Why is urine greenish, in what cases can it take on a different shade? There are a number of reasons that may be completely harmless or, on the contrary, say that medical intervention is required.
Innocuous reasons
The most harmless factor that can affect the change in the shade of urine is the use of certain foods and drinks.
First of all, these are synthetically colored drinks, in particular carbonated ones, as well as products, for example,ice cream. But in such cases, the dye of artificial origin is quickly excreted from the body and everything returns to normal, especially if the intake of such a food or drink into the body has stopped.
Natural foods can also cause greenish urine. In particular, these are vegetables:
- sorrel;
- rhubarb, but only the aboveground part, underground stains urine red;
- asparagus gives a greenish or light green hue;
- unripe apples;
- spinach, after it the urine becomes a rich green hue;
- Unripe pistachios.
Natural dyes are also very quickly excreted from the body. Often, it is even possible to determine which vegetable influenced the change in urine color only after a deep analysis of the diet. However, if the urine is greenish for 2 or more days, then this is a reason to immediately consult a doctor.
Drugs
Medicines can also change the color of urine. Some drugs do contain green dyes, which are not metabolized by the kidneys. However, these symptoms can also be due to side effects, so you should report these changes to your doctor.
Drugs that change the color of urine include antihistamines, antibacterials, antidepressants, for example, Propofol, Ripsapin, Indomeacin and a number of others.
Some vitaminscan also affect the change in hue, but most often they cause only an increase in the brightness of the yellow color.
A number of medicinal herbs can also affect the color of urine, in particular licorice grass, buckthorn and joster, which have a natural green pigment in their composition.
Family hypercalcemia
This is a fairly rare genetic disease. A characteristic symptom of pathology is urine of a greenish color, or with a bluish tinge.
This is due to the fact that calcium receptors in the parathyroid gland or kidneys change. And these receptors are responsible for maintaining hemostasis of calcium ions, as a result of which its amount increases. In the future, pathology becomes the cause of the development of kidney nephrocalcinosis or hyperparathyroidism. In addition to changing the color of urine, the patient has a number of other symptoms: fever, constipation, irritability, and others.
Dysbacteriosis
A seemingly trivial disturbance of the intestinal microflora can actually cause a change in the color of urine. This is due to the fact that due to disorders in the intestines, the products of protein decay enter the bloodstream, then are excreted through the kidneys, but already painted in a blue-greenish color.
Women's Issues
Many women during the period of gestation often do not understand why they need to take a urine test so often. And everything is very simple, even the color of urine will determine the condition of the future mother and child.
If the urine is greenish in women during pregnancy, then this indicatesabout the fact that it has a high content of bile pigments, of course, provided that the diet did not contain products that cause an unnatural color of urine.
Also, the green color can indicate changes in the hormonal system or ordinary poisoning.
Infectious diseases
But the cause can be not only the gallbladder, but also infectious diseases that can appear in both sexes. There are a number of causes of cloudy urine in women and men, with a greenish tint, and first of all it is gonorrhea. In this case, the color is due to the release of pus and mucus.
In the female half of humanity, such changes may indicate the presence of vulvitis, endometritis, vaginitis, colpitis.
If we are talking about men, then the green color can talk about phimosis or balanoposthitis. Although these diseases are still more common in boys than in men.
At the same time, after collecting urine for research, the number of leukocytes in urine is determined without fail. Their increased content is not an independent pathology, but only indicates that an inflammatory process is taking place in the body.
The cause of cloudy urine in a woman, even with a greenish tint, may be cystitis. In men, such problems can occur against the background of urethritis, but both of these diseases most often have an infectious basis. These diseases are accompanied by burning sensation during urination, and sometimes even pain, pain. Severe forms of pathology are accompanied by the release of pus along with urine.
Inflammatory processwith an infectious or non-infectious form of diseases of the genitourinary system, they are often completely asymptomatic, especially at the initial stage and when it comes to the elderly and pregnant women. Therefore, it is very important to pay attention to the color of your own urine.
Prostatitis
Another male pathology that causes discoloration of urine. This is based on the process of increasing white blood cells, as is the case with infectious diseases. This is due to the fact that the leukocytes themselves are very mobile, but against the background of prostatitis, urinary retention is observed, which leads to the fact that they accumulate in the urine. Under such circumstances, microbes also accumulate in large numbers in the kidneys, which causes the development of pyelonephritis.
Diseases of the gallbladder and liver
If a person has problems with the liver, not only urine, but also feces can change color. Along with this, there may be bloating, an unpleasant aftertaste in the mouth, pain in the right hypochondrium, general weakness and increased sweating.
If we are talking about the gallbladder, then a change in the color of urine can cause gallstone disease, jaundice or cholecystitis. If the work of the organ is disrupted, then bile accumulates in excess in the body, respectively, and is excreted in the same large volume, coloring the urine green. Diseases also have a number of characteristic symptoms: fever, belching, discoloration of feces, vomiting, and others. Pain in this case is characteristic of the upper abdomen. Thethe type of pathologies is more typical for men.
Pyuria
This is not a separate pathology, but only another name for leukocyturia, that is, an increased number of leukocytes in the urine. In this case, the excess of the norm is 200 or more leukocytes. This condition may be accompanied by the appearance of flakes and clots, which are clearly visible in the urine.
Pyuria is just another confirmation that there is an inflammatory process in the body and most likely in the urinary tract, less often in the presence of glomeulonephritis.
What to do and when to see a doctor
What does the color of urine mean is already clear, it can tell about the presence of many pathologies. When to contact a doctor? If the color of the urine has not recovered within two days, while absolutely all foods and medicines that could provoke this were excluded from the diet - this is exactly the moment when you should not postpone going to the doctor, who will prescribe a general examination of urine, blood, as additional diagnostic measure.
If a disease is suspected, the doctor may prescribe additional tests: a biochemical study, a blood test for toxins, ultrasound, and more.
It is very important not to delay going to the doctor if your general well-being worsens against the background of a change in the color of urine.
