Why Is My Urine Deeply Yellow?

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What is the normal colour of urine? – The normal colour of urine is light yellow, clear and free of any form of particles. This is because it contains a pigment known as urobilin, produced from the breakdown of old or damaged red blood cells. Sometimes, urine may be almost as clear as water or deeply yellow in colour. 

What makes urine as clear as water?

When urine appears almost as clear as water, it commonly signals excess water in the body which it is trying to get rid of. It does this in order to maintain the body in healthy state. This may occur after drinking excess water, alcohol, during cold weather when there is minimal or no sweat. 

What are the causes of deep yellow urine?

The following factors may make urine colour to be deeply yellow:

  1. Dehydration – This refers to low level of water in the body. This is the most common cause of deeply yellow urine. When this occurs, the kidneys filter the body’s waste with minimal water, making it to be concentrated and the colour appearing deep yellow. The concentration in this case refers to the proportion of waste products to water content. The kidneys do this so as to reduce water loss from the body when there is already water shortage in the body. Sometimes, there may be sufficient water in the body but the kidneys are not functioning well. In this case, the urine is both scanty and deeply yellow. The solution here is to increase water intake 
  2. Excess vitamin intake – Excess intake of vitamins B and C may make urine colour to be deeply yellow or orange. The vitamins are water-soluble and are filtered by the kidneys into the urine. Food and food products with these vitamins can also have the same effect. This has no deleterious effect to health.
  3. Drugs – Drugs like rifampicin, sulfasalazine and phenazopyridine may alter the colour of urine to deep yellow, orange or red. This will be discussed with you by your doctor while being given such drugs. Urine colour usually returns to normal after completion of such drugs. 
  4. Excess breakdown of red blood cells – Disease conditions that lead to increased breakdown of red blood cells such as malaria, sickle cell disease etc may cause urine to be deeply yellow in colour. This is coupled with reduction in appetite and water intake that may go with some of such disease conditions. Urine colour often returns to normal after treatment of such conditions.

Caution – If after correction of any of these conditions that commonly alter urine colour, the colour remains the same, seeing a doctor for further evaluation is very important. This is because this may be due to more serious conditions such as kidney failure cancer within the urinary system. 

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