Urine (urine) is one of the biological fluids in the human body, produced in the kidneys during the process of filtering blood. It removes metabolic end products, medicinal and toxic substances, and other impurities.
Their composition and concentration affect the color of urine. A radical change in color is caused by physiological or pathological processes in the body. Therefore, green urine is not in all cases a sign of illness.
This can be determined using urine analysis. The color of urine is a property that is determined visually.
The effect of certain medications and foods on the color of urine
The safest cause of urine discoloration is eating food and drinks with dyes (for example, soda, candy, ice cream). Usually it is synthetic dyes that cause this phenomenon.
In more rare cases, consumption in large quantities leads to this result:
- sorrel;
- rhubarb (its aerial parts);
- asparagus;
- green apples;
- spinach;
- unripe pistachios.
In both cases, the paint is quickly eliminated from the body without causing harm. If you refuse products with dye, the green tint of your urine will change to straw color within 2 days.
Foods containing green dyes always change the color of not only urine, but also feces.
Urine that is yellow-green in color occurs after treatment with certain medications. Usually these are products that contain dyes or herbal extracts. Sometimes this effect occurs after taking antidepressants, antibiotics and antihistamines.
Light green urine is observed if the body reacts inadequately to taking the drug. In any case, a change in the color of urine during drug therapy should be reported to your doctor. Based on the specific situation, he will decide what to do next: continue the course of therapy or replace the drug with another.
Medicines
If the urine is green, medications may be the cause.
- This condition is observed when taking vitamins. The symptoms are especially pronounced when consuming riboflavin (B2). Vitamin C can cause such a reaction in the urinary system. These substances are part of most complexes, so when taking them you should pay attention to the behavior of the body. If the urine has become brighter and has acquired a light green tint, this may be the first sign of excess vitamins.
- When treated with blue, similar reactions are observed. The drug is prescribed to children and adults for the treatment of the oral mucosa for stomatitis and other infectious and inflammatory diseases. Providing an antiseptic effect, the blue of the solution enters the digestive tract. In this case, the mixture of the natural yellow color of urine with blue causes the formation of a green tint.
- Preparations containing iodine used to treat the oral cavity can color urine. Lugol, Yox, Faringosept have this effect. Some antibiotics, tetracyclic antidepressants, and allergy medications act similarly. Cimetidine and Indomethacin have a side effect in the form of greenish coloration of urine.
- Alternative medicine also has a coloring effect: licorice, buckthorn, zoster. When consuming Alexandria leaf in the form of tea or tablets (Senade), a similar reaction occurs. Therefore, people suffering from constipation and using herbal laxatives often complain of this symptom.
Possible diseases
Greenish-yellow color of urine in some cases indicates problems in the body.
Liver and gallbladder diseases
Light green urine sometimes indicates cholelithiasis, obstructive jaundice or cholecystitis. These diseases arise due to improper functioning of the gallbladder, the main function of which is to concentrate and release bile in portions. If the bladder does not work properly, bile accumulates in it and begins to be absorbed into the blood. The kidneys filter it, but are not able to completely clean it. Women are more likely to experience this pathology.
Inflammation of the liver or part of it also leads to the production of green urine. This is usually accompanied by stool problems and other unpleasant symptoms.
The color of urine in these diseases is dark green, marshy. Sometimes the urine foams.
Sexually transmitted infections
Greenish urine in an adult who is sexually active sometimes indicates gonorrhea. This is one of the most common sexually transmitted diseases. With gonorrhea, pus and mucus are washed away from the tissues during urination. Mixing with them, urine becomes cloudy and acquires a yellow-green tint.
Green urine with gonorrhea usually occurs 3-5 days after unprotected sexual intercourse.
Inflammations of the genitourinary system
The appearance of cloudy green urine is a reason to be checked for pyelonephritis, cystitis and urethritis.
Abnormally colored urine in women sometimes indicates gynecological problems, such as inflammation of the ovaries, uterus or vagina. Green urine sometimes indicates gardnerellosis. During these infections, the body produces more mucus, and therefore the composition and color of the urine changes.
In men, a change in the shade of urine provokes prostatitis, when the spermatic cords become inflamed and pus is formed. Mixing with urine, purulent masses change its appearance.
Intestinal dysbiosis
The presence of green urine means that dysbiosis cannot be ruled out. This pathology is characterized by a significant decrease in the number of beneficial bacteria in the intestines, as a result of which food is not fully absorbed.
Over time, undigested food begins to ferment and rot. Greenish urine in this case indicates that rotting products of undigested food leave the body through the kidneys.
Worms
Green urine in children is one of the main signs of helminthiasis. Substances released during the life of parasites, along with the blood, spread throughout the body and poison it. The color of urine and feces becomes dark green.
Most often, urine acquires a green color when the body is infected with pinworms and roundworms.
Hereditary diseases
Familial hypercalcemia is a rare genetic disorder. One of its main symptoms is urine with a greenish tint.
With hypercalcemia, pathological changes occur in the calcium receptors of the parathyroid gland and kidneys. This entails renal nephrocalcinosis or hyperparathyroidism.
Medicines and pathologies are the cause of green shades of urine
The dyes in some medications are not broken down in the body and color the urine. It takes on different shades of green. Discoloration may be a side effect of the drug. It is not uncommon for urine to appear greenish-yellow in color.
Antibiotics, tricyclic antidepressants, antihistamines, medications of the propofol, indomethacin, and cimetidine group have such properties.
Vitamins also make urine green. But more often they enhance the yellow color of biological fluid. Dyes are added to their composition, which affect the color of urine. This is noted in the descriptions of the drugs.
Bright yellow urine is caused by vitamins B2 and C in the complexes. An overdose of such drugs can cause changes in the color of urine. This is the answer to the question why urine is yellow from vitamins.
Traditional medicines containing natural green pigment color the blood filtrate no less. The medicinal herbs licorice (licorice), zoster, and buckthorn have such properties.
A persistent change in the color of urine with additional symptoms is a sign of a disease. This is a manifestation of acute or chronic pathology that needs to be urgently diagnosed and treated. Green urine is released in the following diseases:
- infectious pathologies of the genitourinary system;
- liver and gallbladder diseases;
- gonorrhea;
- prostatitis.
In this case, leukocyturia is observed. It is manifested by a significant number of leukocytes in the urine. This is not an independent disease, but a sign of the progression of the inflammatory process in the body.
Women sometimes experience green urine during pregnancy. The reason may be a change in hormonal levels, the development of a disease, or poisoning by toxins.
Some other problems also affect the color of urine. For example, certain anesthesia medications tend to turn urine green.
Pregnancy
It is impossible to say for sure why urine is green in pregnant women. The presence of any unpleasant symptoms in such a situation indicates that it is necessary to be examined. During pregnancy, the immune system decreases, making the body susceptible to infections.
Sometimes, while taking vitamin-mineral complexes, women produce light green urine, but there are no unpleasant symptoms. The green color in this case indicates that excess components entering the body are being eliminated.
Relevance of the problem
The natural color of urine is light yellow (straw). It may be a little lighter or darker. This depends on the level of saturation of the body's cells with water.
Urine of a greenish tint appears in children and adults. The main difference is that in a child this is most often a sign of pathology. In adults, slight coloring of biological fluid in most cases is caused by food coloring impurities.
Light green urine appears in the presence of plant pigments and synthetic additives consumed with food or taking medications. Urine also turns green from indican, a substance produced in the body during certain pathologies. It is found in a urine test. It is an important symptom for diagnosing diseases.
Additional symptoms that indicate illness
Green urine is one of the manifestations of infectious inflammation in the genitourinary system. Typically, inflammation is accompanied by frequent urge to go to the toilet, pain and stinging during the process of emptying the bladder. The acute course of the pathology is accompanied by pain in the lower back and lower abdomen, and an increase in body temperature.
If you have liver and gallstone problems, in addition to green urine, you are also worried about pain in the abdominal cavity, increased gas formation and the urge to vomit. In the most advanced cases, chills and increased body temperature, pain in the right hypochondrium, bitter taste in the mouth, and skin rashes are observed.
With gonorrhea, green urine is observed in both women and men. This is accompanied by pain and burning during urination, and the discharge of drops of pus from the urethra in the morning.
In men with prostatitis, in addition to producing green urine, there are difficulties with emptying the bladder, fluid retention occurs, and groin and lower back pain.
With prolonged prostatitis, the infection can rise higher and affect the kidneys. This is fraught with serious complications, including disruption of the filtration organs.
Diagnosis, treatment and prevention
If a symptom such as green urine appears, you need to sound the alarm in the following cases:
- when the general condition of the body deteriorates;
- when the smell of urine changes, as well as its transparency and saturation;
- when various types of pain occur.
If at least one of the described symptoms develops, you should urgently consult your physician. To clarify possible diagnoses, the doctor may prescribe urine and blood tests, as well as more specialized studies - ultrasound of the bladder, kidneys, liver, gallbladder, CT and MRI of organs, and others. Before taking blood and urine tests, you must stop taking all medications.
Video: Urine color
197 Urine color
What to do if your urine turns green
You need to be wary if:
- 2 days after changing the diet and stopping medications, the color of the urine does not become natural;
- in addition to the green color of urine, deterioration in well-being is alarming;
- There was a change in the color of urine during pregnancy.
In all these cases, it is recommended to contact your local physician. He will talk about the need for analysis and how to take it correctly.
The specialist will recommend performing a general examination of urine and blood, as well as a biochemical test (liver tests). To confirm the assumptions, he will prescribe an ultrasound of the bladder, kidneys, liver and gallbladder. There is no point in trying to return the color to normal without knowing the reason.
Urine color
Natural color of urine
A healthy body does not add extraneous shades to the color of urine. The standard color of urine is light yellow, without foreign impurities or inclusions. Changes in the color palette in adults and children can be formed against the background of general indicators of the body’s condition, the amount of incoming fluid, and the characteristics of the daily diet.
Slight changes in color and transparency are allowed, depending on the influence of the above reasons, from lighter to darker, yellowish.
Pigments that affect the color of urine
Many foods contain natural and artificial colors. Vegetables and fruits contain a large number of pigments. What does the different color of urine indicate? The reaction that takes place depends on the concentration of the dye and many third-party components.
Experts distinguish more than 50 varieties of coloring pigments that enter the patient’s body along with natural foods.
Women's issues
Many women during pregnancy 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 expectant mother and child.
If the urine is greenish in color in women during pregnancy, then this indicates that it contains a high content of bile pigments, naturally, provided that the diet did not contain foods that cause an unnatural color of urine.
Also, green color may indicate changes in the hormonal system or ordinary poisoning.
Harmless reasons
The least dangerous factor that can affect a change in the color of urine is the consumption of certain foods and drinks.
First of all, these are synthetically colored drinks, in particular carbonated drinks, as well as products, for example, ice cream. But in such cases, the dye of artificial origin is quickly eliminated from the body and everything returns to normal, especially if the intake of such food or drink into the body has stopped.
Natural foods can also cause your urine to be greenish in color. In particular, these are vegetables:
- sorrel;
- rhubarb, but only the above-ground part, the underground part turns urine red;
- asparagus gives a greenish or light green tint;
- unripe apples;
- spinach, after which the urine acquires a rich green tint;
- unripe pistachios.
Natural dyes are also eliminated from the body very quickly. Often, even determining which vegetable influenced the change in urine color can only be done after an in-depth analysis of the diet. However, if the urine is greenish in color for 2 or more days, then this is a reason to immediately consult a doctor.
Pathological processes in the body
If a person has observed green urine for a long time, then we can talk about a pathological process. Additionally, complaints appear, which may be more or less pronounced.
The content of pigments in the body is responsible for giving color to urine: urorosein, urobelin, hematoporphyrin, uroerythrin, urochromes and others produced from the blood. If their balance is disturbed for some reason, the organoleptic properties of the biological fluid are distorted. One or another pathology can be suspected by the accompanying symptoms, and determined through differential diagnosis.
- Gallbladder pathologies. With excess bile production, a change occurs not only in the color of urine, but also in stool. Lack of bile, caused by the formation of stones or constrictions, also affects the color indicators of urine. In addition, the patient has dyspeptic disorders in the form of pain, flatulence, heartburn and bitter belching.
- Mechanical jaundice. Pathology develops as a result of blockage of the bile ducts. For this reason, the patient experiences excess bilirubin in the body. In addition to the discharge of green urine, there is also a characteristic yellowing of the skin and mucous membranes.
- Liver diseases. In addition to obstructive jaundice, other pathological conditions affecting the hematopoietic organ can cause a change in the color of urine: fibrosis, cirrhosis, steatosis, hepatitis. The patient experiences pain and heaviness in the right hypochondrium, loss of appetite, and decreased body weight.
- Damage to the urinary system. Pyelonephritis, urethritis, cystitis in some cases are accompanied by the release of urine mixed with pus. The cause of this condition is infection. The proliferation of pathogens and an increase in the number of leukocytes causes cloudy urine. An accompanying symptom is a burning sensation during urination, increased body temperature and abdominal pain.
- Gynecological diseases in women. Inflammation of the vagina, uterus or ovaries is accompanied by the release of greenish purulent exudate. Coloring of urine in women with such pathologies almost always occurs, since the amount of mucus increases significantly compared to the normal state. A common cause of cloudy green urine is gardnerellosis.
- Male pathologies. Similar to the female body, representatives of the stronger sex can also experience infectious and inflammatory diseases of the reproductive organs. With prostatitis, inflammation of the spermatic ducts, purulent exudate forms. It is produced along with urine during urination.
Diagnosis of pathologies
If there is a sharp change in the shade of urine excreted, you should pay attention to the accompanying symptoms and signs of illness, such as the clarity and smell of urine, as well as pain when trying to relieve a minor need.
To determine the suspected diagnosis, the doctor prescribes a general urine test at the clinic. Based on the results of the study, the doctor will be able to prescribe the necessary therapy, based on data on the presence of protein, leukocytes and possible impurities.
Photo 1. You need to bring morning urine collected at home for analysis. Source: Flickr (Ric Sumner)
Familial hypercalcemia
This is a fairly rare genetic disease. A characteristic symptom of the pathology is urine that is greenish in color or has a bluish tint.
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, the pathology becomes the cause of the development of nephrocalcinosis of the kidneys or hyperparathyroidism. In addition to changes in the color of urine, the patient experiences a number of other symptoms: fever, constipation, irritability and others.
This is a fairly rare genetic disease. A characteristic symptom of the pathology is urine that is greenish or has a bluish tint.
Features in children
Urine in newborn babies is almost colorless, while in infants it is light yellow. The discovery of green urine in a child should alert parents, as this may be a signal of health problems.
The appearance of brownish-green urine in a baby may be associated with obstructive jaundice. The main symptoms of the disease include:
- severe itching;
- sudden weight loss;
- staining of the mucous membranes and skin in a jaundiced-pale color;
- colorless stool;
- increased bile content;
- Body temperature
