Wee, Wee, Wee All the Way Home

As part of my ongoing quest to share vital information with you – information that you might not receive from other sources – I call your attention to this interesting article from CNN: The Pee Color Spectrum – What It Means.

You may not have known, or paid much attention to, the color of your urine, but it provides you and your doctor vital information about the state of your health. Here is a summary of the colors and what they mean, summarized from the article:

Clear. You’re drinking plenty of water. No problem, unless you are getting tired of spending too much time in the bathroom.

Pale Yellow. This is normal. No need to call your doctor unless you see it running down your leg at unexpected times.

Bright Yellow. This indicates you have an excess of B vitamins in your system, not that you are a coward. It’s normal, and is just your urine’s way of telling you you’re packing too much riboflavin.

Brownish-Yellow. If your pee is this color, it’s carrying a high concentration of the evil stuff urine is supposed to remove from your body. You should probably drink more water.

Brown. A brown color can indicate the presence of myoglobin, a protein found in muscle, in the urine. It can indicate rhabdomyolysis (sometimes shortened to "rhabdo"), which is a form of muscle damage that causes muscle fibers to die and leach into the bloodstream. If your pee looks like your poop, call your doctor.

Greenish-Blue or Orange. Certain medications can result in urine that’s one of these colors. If you’re not taking any medication, you may want to consult your doctor.

Pink or Red. You may have eaten too many beets. Or you may have blood in your urine, which is a bad thing. Or you just might be one of those damn socialists the Republicans are worried are taking over the country from Real Americans.

There are lots of useful charts available on the Internet to help you evaluate the meaning of your urine's color ... here's one that relates urine color to your degree of hydration:

And the guidelines may be easier to remember with a slightly different approach to color:

Drink up, Dear Readers, and - like the little piggy - you can cry "wee, wee, wee!" all the way home.

Have a good day. Stay hydrated. More thoughts tomorrow.

Bilbo