Urine Color Chart

Whenever you pass urine, you should always notice its color. Why? Because, urine color will help you spot dehydration symptoms in your body. Dehydration can occur if you do not drink enough water during the day. Dehydration can lead to many serious health related problems and maybe even death. Apart from dehydration it will also help you spot signs of urinary tract infection. If you are able to understand the urine color you pass, you may be able to spot an underlying health condition. The following chart for hydration as well as infection will help you match your urine color and assess your health situation.

Causes of Dehydration
There can be many causes of dehydration. It may happen due to severe diarrhea and vomiting. Body loses water faster than it can replenish the fluids. This leads to severe dehydration. It can also occur by drinking a lot of caffeinated drinks. It causes your body to lose more fluids leading to dehydration. Avoid drinking sugary drinks to quench your thirst. Instead of replenishing the body fluids, sugary drinks cause dehydration. This is because each sugar molecule requires one molecule of water for its metabolism. Excessive running, walking, exercises may also lead to dehydration. Excessive sweating may also cause loss of body fluids.

Causes of Other Health Problems
Many times one may observe changes in urine color due to a urinary tract infection. At times, kidneys that are not functioning to the optimum level also cause change in urine color. Thus, bacterial infection, kidney ailments, liver problems, etc. can lead to color changes of the urine.

Urine Color Chart for Hydration
If you are wondering if you are experiencing dehydration or if your body is well-hydrated, then the following table will prove to be a helpful guide.

The colors are just representative of the urine color. Match the shade of your urine to the nearest color in the chart for interpretation.

URINE COLOR CHART TO INDICATE DEHYDRATION
H y d r a t e d
		Level 1	This is the normal color of urine. If this is your urine color, it means you are well-hydrated and healthy.
		Level 2	Slightly darker color urine also indicates you are okay. All you need is to drink a little more water.
		Level 3	This still indicates you are hydrated, but need to drink about 1/2 bottle of water in an hour. You could even drink a whole bottle (1/2 liter) of water. This advice should be followed especially by those who are outside and/or sweating.
D e h y d r a t e d
		Level 4	This indicates you are dehydrated and need to drink at least 1 bottle (1/2 liter of water immediately.
		Level 5	You are definitely dehydrated and need to increase your water intake. If you are drinking excess caffeinated drinks, stop immediately. Your body is experiencing severe loss of water.
		Level 6	This is the most severe sign of dehydration. You should be drinking liter water and seek medical help without delay.

Consequences of Dehydration
In the above urine color chart for dehydration, level 1 and level 2 indicate normal urine colors. Level 3 urine color indicates dehydration to some extent, whereas 4 and 5 point towards severe dehydration. Dehydration results in impaired performance of an individual. Other dehydration symptoms include nausea, weakness, fatigue, muscle cramps and unsteady gait. If you notice dark urine along with the symptoms of dehydration you need to stop all physical activity. You should loosen your clothes and sit down. Drink water, but not in gulps. Instead sip water slowly. If you gulp water down, it will lead to severe nausea and even vomiting. Sipping will help your body replenish water and overcome dehydration. If one suffers from vomiting, confusion, agitation, convulsions, high body temperature due to dehydration, call for medical help immediately. The person needs to be laid down on a flat surface and loosen all clothing. Give him sips of water if the person is conscious. You can pour cold water over the person or apply ice on their skin to cool them.

Urine Color Chart for Health Problems
As mentioned above, urine color can also indicate health problems. The following table will cover information that will help you understand possible health causes for a particular urine color.

The diagnosis given is to help readers understand the possible causes. This is not a diagnostic tool. One should visit a medical professional and carry out proper diagnostic tests, in order to confirm the underlying health issues.

URINE COLOR CHART TO INDICATE POSSIBLE HEALTH AILMENTS
	Pale yellow, clear or cloudy	Clear urine indicates your health is fine. You should continue eating healthy food and follow the correct diet that suits your body type. If the urine has no color, it may indicate diabetes insipidus that causes large amounts of severely diluted urine. In some cases, it may indicate liver disease, like hepatitis or liver cirrhosis, or diabetes mellitus. Cloudy urine may indicate cystitis.
	Dark yellow or golden color	Dark urine is a sign of dehydration. It may also indicate of over-consumption of vitamins or food supplements containing B complex vitamins as well as laxatives containing cascara and senna. Consumption of medications like chloroquine and nitrofurantoin, primaquine, methocarbamol, metronidazole may also cause the urine to darken. It may also indicate other medical ailments like liver cirrhosis, hepatitis and acute glomerulonephritis. At times people eating excess of Fava beans, aloe and rhubarb may also find their urine color turning golden-yellow.
	Deep yellow, orange or amber	Orange urine color indicates dehydration as well excess consumption of certain food dyes. At times, laxatives also lead to orange urine. Other than that, eating excessive carrots, vitamin C ,and foods high in carotene also change the color of the urine into amber, deep yellow or orange color. Use of certain medications like pyridium can cause orange color of urine.
	Pink or red color	Pink or red colored urine indicates kidney infections or bladder infections. Excessive consumption of beets, berries and food dyes can also cause the urine to turn pink or red. Porphyria, is disease that attacks the skin and nervous system of a patient. It causes the urine to turn dark reddish pink in color. Hematuria causes blood in urine, that can be due to a bacterial infection or blood from the kidneys.
	Green or Blue	Green urine can be caused due to a side effect of medications like amitriptyline, indomethacin. It can also occur due to excessive consumption of asparagus and food dyes. Blue urine can be caused due to "Blue diaper syndrome", also called,familial hypercalcemia. This is a rare disorder that turns the color of urine blue. It is an autosomal recessive metabolic disorder seen in infants. It causes a peculiar bluish discoloration of the infant's diaper.

This was all about urine color chart for dehydration. You can speak to a medical expert about urine color and what it means for more information related to your health. You should drink about 8 to 10 glasses of water daily to avoid dehydration. Staying hydrated is also good for your skin, hair and other body organs. Water helps flush out toxins from the body as well as other infectious agents. So, make sure you drink enough water to remain healthy and active.