After peeing, you may notice your urine has a range of colors. Some colors aren’t just normal – they could indicate an underlying health issue.
Green may not cause alarm in most cases, but it can still be an indicator of an underlying health problem. In certain instances, green can indicate a urinary tract infection (UTI), bacteria in the pyocyanin-producing tract, or liver failure.
Dr. Anurag K. Das, chief of urology at Staten Island University Hospital, believes the most common cause of green pee is food dyes found in items like candy, ice cream and cereals. These chemicals alter your urine’s color from yellow to green due to these chemicals present, according to Dr. Das.
Other foods that can tint your urine include blackberries, fava beans and rhubarb. Furthermore, certain medications like amitriptyline, indomethacin, cimetidine and promethazine may cause it to appear bluish-green.
Medicines can sometimes alter your urine’s hue, though most changes are harmless. Drugs like cimetidine and amitriptyline contain phenol groups which break down yellow pigments in your body and mix them with blue pigments in urine to give it a bluish-green hue, as reported by the National Capital Poison Center.
Another medication that may turn your urine green is propofol, a drug commonly used during general anesthesia during surgery. On rare occasions, blue urine may also be the result of tests conducted on your kidneys or bladder which use dyes to assess how well they work.
Red or pink urine may indicate an issue, such as blood in your pee (hematoma). It’s an important indication that you should visit a doctor.
Familial benign hypercalcemia, a rare genetic disorder, can cause your urine to turn green. This condition is most common among children but adults may also be affected.
Other medicines can also affect your urine’s color, such as phenazopyridine (which numbs the bladder) or rifampicin antibiotic. These chemicals do this by mixing yellow pigments with bilirubin – a waste product from the liver – to give your urine its characteristic hue.
Vitamins and supplements can cause your pee to turn green, especially if you take too many. It’s best to consult your doctor about the amounts of vitamins you’re taking and how they impact your body.
Dehydration may manifest itself if your urine appears darker than usual, meaning you are getting less water than necessary to stay hydrated and healthy. This could reduce essential minerals and salts levels in the body, potentially leading to chemical imbalances within the body, according to Johnson-Arbor.
Your urine’s color may change as a side effect of taking medication or having medical procedures, but this should fade within several hours. In some cases, your healthcare provider may need to adjust your medication or provide another type of medicine in order to treat the side effect.
It may be that you’re drinking too much water or are dehydrated due to a health condition like diabetes or high blood pressure. To ensure adequate nutrient absorption, drink more water and take multivitamins or other supplements regularly.
