Dark Urine Causes

The normal color of the urine is light yellow. Although, occasionally, due to the foods or the medicines that a person is taking, the urine color may change to dark yellow, orange, red, pink or brown in color. Certain medical conditions too are among the causes of dark urine. Let us know in detail, why the urine color changes and gets brown, dark yellow and blood tinged, followed by some advise on the treatment for this condition.

Dark Brown Urine

Medicines
If a person is taking certain drugs and medicines, such as the antimalarial drugs or the drugs that treat a urinary tract infection or laxatives which contain cascara or certain muscle relaxants, it can produce a dark brown colored urine in the person.

Health Conditions
A person who has some sort of liver disorder, such as hepatitis or tyrosinemia, a hereditary disease, can get a dark brown colored urine. A kidney disease, known as acute glomerulonephritis, which makes removal of excess wastes and fluids from the body difficult, is another cause behind dark brown urine color.

Orange or Dark Yellow Urine

Diet
Excess intake of foods which are rich in vitamin C, such as oranges and carrot juice, can make the urine orange in color. Taking B complex vitamins is another reason why the urine turns dark. In this case, the urine will be dark yellow in color.

Lack of Fluid Intake
Lack of fluid intake causes the urochrome to concentrate, making the urine to appear orange or yellow. Thus, dehydration is another common cause behind dark yellow urine.

Medicines
Certain medicines, such as phenazopyridine, which is taken to treat a urinary tract infection, chemotherapy medicines, certain laxatives and blood thinners such as warfarin, can cause the urine color to change to dark yellow or orange.

Red Urine

Diet
Intake of foods which have a natural red color, such as beets and blackberries, can give the urine a pinkish or reddish color.

Medical Conditions
Certain medical conditions, such as urinary tract infection, kidney disease, kidney stones, bladder cancer and kidney cancer, can cause urine to change to red color. This is because these diseases cause urinary bleeding, resulting in the appearance of red blood cells in urine. In fact, hematuria, a condition in which there is blood present in urine, is one of the main causes in children.

Treatment

If the condition is temporary, then probably the causes will be harmless, such as intake of certain food or drugs. However, if it is accompanied by either of the symptoms, such as changes in skin color, pale stools, a continuous change in the color of the urine, and blood in the urine, a medical professional should be contacted immediately.

The doctor, in order to diagnose the causes will make the person undergo blood tests, urine tests, urinalysis, kidney ultrasound, liver function tests and bladder ultrasound. The doctor will also examine whether some other symptoms, such as a strong smell or a burning sensation while urinating are present. He will identify the time pattern of the change in urine, color of the urine, what foods or drugs the person is taking and the medical history of the person, to arrive at the dark urine causes. Based on these, he suggests the treatment.

As can be seen from above, dark urine can be harmless in some cases and fatal in others. So any change in urine color, which lasts more than a couple of days, should be referred to a doctor without fail.