To Thread - Forum Home

The Mudcat Café TM
https://mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=129705
58 messages

BS: Why is urine yellow?

25 May 10 - 12:31 AM (#2913674)
Subject: BS: Why is urine yellow?
From: Little Hawk

Another vital question that has never been answered here! ;-)

Come on, science guys. This is your chance to shine.


25 May 10 - 12:40 AM (#2913678)
Subject: RE: BS: Why is urine yellow?
From: Rapparee

It's not.

Its color can vary from clear to nearly black, depending on what's wrong with you. It's yellow when you're dehydrated and it's concentrated; it can be red or pinkish from blood or nearly black from bile. It can taste sweetish in cases of diabetes (or so I'm told) and can contain "gravel" from bladder or kidney stones if you look at it under a microscope.

Which brings to mind a couple of lab techs I knew. Call them John and Mary.

They were working late one night back in the days before computers did all the work. Around 2 a.m. it was slow and they were catching up on the routine bloods and urines that had come in during the day. John was working on one that was so dark you couldn't see through it.

He did the pH, the specific gravity, and then put it under a microscope. It was FULL of what appeared to be sand. The patient was obviously very, very ill but John couldn't figure out from what. So he called Mary for a consult.

Mary looked long through the microscope and then picked up the specimen contain, sniffed it, and drank some.

Coffee. So playing along, they wrote up a report that the patient was suffering from acute arsenical poisoning.

Some days later John was drawing bloods up on the floor and impishly asked for a cup of coffee. The nurses at the station hurried to assure him that the coffee machine was broken.


25 May 10 - 12:59 AM (#2913684)
Subject: RE: BS: Why is urine yellow?
From: Liz the Squeak

So you know if you're coming or going?



















I'll get me coat...

LTS


25 May 10 - 01:00 AM (#2913685)
Subject: RE: BS: Why is urine yellow?
From: Seamus Kennedy

So you know whether you're coming or going?


25 May 10 - 01:01 AM (#2913686)
Subject: RE: BS: Why is urine yellow?
From: Little Hawk

Tsk. Such a thorough answer. Yes, I know that it's clear when one is not dehydrated. And what does that indicate? It indicates that most of the North American populace IS dehydrated most of the time. People generally do not drink enough water. Instead they drink coffee, tea, soft drinks, and other stuff like that, most of which dehydrates them further.

Urine can also turn reddish when you eat beats. This can come as quite a shock to some people, if they haven't eaten beets before...or in a long time.


25 May 10 - 01:12 AM (#2913693)
Subject: RE: BS: Why is urine yellow?
From: mousethief

So when one's urine is yellow, what is it in the urine that makes it yellow?


25 May 10 - 02:02 AM (#2913707)
Subject: RE: BS: Why is urine yellow?
From: Little Hawk

Yeah, that was the original question.


25 May 10 - 02:08 AM (#2913710)
Subject: RE: BS: Why is urine yellow?
From: catspaw49

A pigment in Urea called "Urochrome." I'm sure you dumbasses can look it up.....I think Paul Simon wrote a song about it.....................

Spaw


25 May 10 - 02:18 AM (#2913715)
Subject: RE: BS: Why is urine yellow?
From: Little Robyn

Mine was bright blue for 3 days after the surgery - from the dye they injected in me.
And it goes green when I've had asparagus!
Robyn


25 May 10 - 03:27 AM (#2913732)
Subject: RE: BS: Why is urine yellow?
From: Micca

Seamus, the full thing is why is urine yellow and Sperm white?... so you know if you are going or coming!!!!


25 May 10 - 03:44 AM (#2913740)
Subject: RE: BS: Why is urine yellow?
From: Dave the Gnome

I had bright blue pee after taking 'DeWitt's back and kidney pills' once. Turned some heads in the stones!

DeG


25 May 10 - 04:43 AM (#2913767)
Subject: RE: BS: Why is urine yellow?
From: GUEST,Shimrod

Apparently some drugs used to treat kidney problems can turn your urine green.

An Australian friend of mine, from Perth, once told me the following story: An Irishman, living in Perth, assured all of his mates that Irishmen pee green on St. Patricks day and took bets on it. What he didn't tell them was that his girl friend was a nurse who had access to the appropriate kidney drugs.

On St. Pat's day they all followed him into the gents - and he won rather a lot of money!


25 May 10 - 04:55 AM (#2913772)
Subject: RE: BS: Why is urine yellow?
From: Leadfingers

Urine is yellow so that you know which snow NOT to use to make the coffee


25 May 10 - 06:23 AM (#2913815)
Subject: RE: BS: Why is urine yellow?
From: bubblyrat

When I was about seven years old,in the 1950s, we used to make our pee go blue by taking Carters Little Liver Pills and A) it was funny and B) my rum-soaked organ is still functioning.
                I went to a "gathering" of Folkies at Easter,where our hosts live in a house not serviced by the town drains ,and who rely,therefore, on a "cess-pit" (still surprisingly common in the UK) in their garden --- They were keen not to "overload" the system, particularly not with the VAST quantities of beer & ale being ingested, so the following note appeared in the outdoor "privvy"
   If It's Yellow, Let It Mellow ;
    If It's Brown, Flush It Down.
.....it wasn't long before a song ensued (to the tune of "Mellow Yellow", naturally).Great Fun !


25 May 10 - 06:27 AM (#2913816)
Subject: RE: BS: Why is urine yellow?
From: bubblyrat

In any case, if it WASN'T yellow, we would not have been able to chant, at Infants' School,whilst pointing to the appropriate parts, --
" Milk ! Milk ! Lemonade ! ;
    Round the corner,Chocolate's made ! "

all part of the learning process, you see ??


25 May 10 - 06:36 AM (#2913819)
Subject: RE: BS: Why is urine yellow?
From: Ed T

It s due to urobilins, a breakdown product of the bile pigment bilirubin (itself a breakdown of part of hemoglobin, from worn-out red blood cells). Bilirubin is also excreted in the feces and colors feces brown.


More info on "foamy urine or bubbly urine", for your analysis:)
http://www.urinecolors.com/protein_in_urine.php


25 May 10 - 07:11 AM (#2913834)
Subject: RE: BS: Why is urine yellow?
From: gnu

Ed T... "for your analysis"

Hahahaaa.


25 May 10 - 07:33 AM (#2913848)
Subject: RE: BS: Why is urine yellow?
From: catspaw49

And the pigment created is called urochrome which is what colors the urine......but I already said that..........

Spaw


25 May 10 - 08:39 AM (#2913881)
Subject: RE: BS: Why is urine yellow?
From: GUEST,bankley

cuz it's cowardly ?


25 May 10 - 08:53 AM (#2913889)
Subject: RE: BS: Why is urine yellow?
From: wysiwyg

Well-known joke involves man in hospital/nursing home/homecare putting apple juice into a urine-specimen jar and drinking it in front of the caregiver.

I thought I might try offering a jar to my doctor- he's such a character and I ALWAYS take a show and tell item. Apple-cran to discuss the latest UTI, perhaps.

~S~


25 May 10 - 09:25 AM (#2913907)
Subject: RE: BS: Why is urine yellow?
From: pdq

Urine isn't yellow, it's chicken!


25 May 10 - 10:58 AM (#2913947)
Subject: RE: BS: Why is urine yellow?
From: Rapparee

Sperm White...a new color for paint..."Yes, we're having the living room done over in Sperm White...."


25 May 10 - 11:31 AM (#2913972)
Subject: RE: BS: Why is urine yellow?
From: Michael

In Sperm White? Wanker!

Mike


25 May 10 - 11:32 AM (#2913974)
Subject: RE: BS: Why is urine yellow?
From: Little Hawk

Well, it would go well with any colour furniture, right?


25 May 10 - 11:56 AM (#2913986)
Subject: RE: BS: Why is urine yellow?
From: Micca

Rap, does it come in any other shades?


25 May 10 - 12:21 PM (#2914002)
Subject: RE: BS: Why is urine yellow?
From: Rapparee

Well, there's Sperm Whale....


25 May 10 - 12:23 PM (#2914004)
Subject: RE: BS: Why is urine yellow?
From: Rapparee

Reminds me of the old tale of Sperm White and Seven Dwarfs.


25 May 10 - 12:42 PM (#2914014)
Subject: RE: BS: Why is urine yellow?
From: mousethief

You are what you eat.


25 May 10 - 12:59 PM (#2914029)
Subject: RE: BS: Why is urine yellow?
From: GUEST

Oh dear, I'm my ex girl friend!


25 May 10 - 01:35 PM (#2914058)
Subject: RE: BS: Why is urine yellow?
From: Alice

Coffee, etc., do not dehydrate you.

CLICK HERE


The Straight Talk
In his review, "Caffeine, Body Fluid-Electrolyte Balance, and Exercise Performance," Lawrence E. Armstrong, a professor of exercise physiology at the University of Connecticut disproves the notion that caffeinated beverages rob us of our precious fluids. By reviewing the scientific research on the subject, he concludes that although caffeine, like water, is a mild diuresis (it increases excretion of urine), moderate caffeine consumption does not produce a "fluid-electrolyte imbalance" that can affect health or exercise performance. Furthermore, we retain roughly the same amount of fluid after drinking a caffeinated beverage as we do after drinking water.

Even more encouraging for habitual coffee consumers is the finding that those with caffeine tolerance have reduced likelihood that a fluid electrolyte imbalance will occur. The more regular your caffeine habit, the more fluid your body is conditioned to retain.

Other findings support his conclusions. A small study done at the University of Nebraska tested the body weight, urine output, and blood of eighteen subjects after they consumed caffeinated and non-caffeinated beverages. They determined that there was "no significant differences in the effect of various combinations of beverages on hydration status of healthy adult males." The Institute of Medicine expert panel on water and electrolyte intake asserts that the diuretic effects of caffeine are transient, and that coffee, tea, and colas can contribute to total water intake.


25 May 10 - 02:39 PM (#2914108)
Subject: RE: BS: Why is urine yellow?
From: Rapparee

Little Hawk, mine isn't yellow -- you might want to see a doctor if urine is.


25 May 10 - 02:52 PM (#2914119)
Subject: RE: BS: Why is urine yellow?
From: Little Hawk

It's strictly a case of regulating my daily water intake, Rapaire. When I remember to drink enough water (about 4 large glasses per day), the urine isn't yellow. When I forget to drink enough water, it is.

Alice, that is interesting info you posted there. Sounds reasonable to me. I think the main point is that people would be better off on the whole if they drank more water and less of the caffeinated and the sugary, carbonated drinks. Agreed? I have found that discontinuing the coffee habit improved my sleeping patterns, my digestion, and my health in general. I almost never drink it anymore. I do drink a fair bit of green tea.


25 May 10 - 04:32 PM (#2914189)
Subject: RE: BS: Why is urine yellow?
From: Alice

Coffee and tea are food beverages.

Processed sugary stuff with additives are a different story.

Coffee has gotten a bad rap. As long as the caffeine doesn't adversely affect your blood pressure, coffee is a good antioxidant beverage. Research suggests it may lower the risk of liver cancer, colon cancer, Parkinson's disease, type II diabetes, and gout.


25 May 10 - 04:41 PM (#2914191)
Subject: RE: BS: Why is urine yellow?
From: Little Hawk

Fine. ;-) Just don't expect me to drink the awful stuff, okay? I used to love it, and I was definitely addicted to it, but now I think it tastes terrible.


25 May 10 - 04:53 PM (#2914199)
Subject: RE: BS: Why is urine yellow?
From: Lox

The answer is simple ....



.... beer!


25 May 10 - 04:56 PM (#2914203)
Subject: RE: BS: Why is urine yellow?
From: Little Hawk

This may rock you to your core....but....

I don't drink beer either. ;-D


25 May 10 - 07:02 PM (#2914286)
Subject: RE: BS: Why is urine yellow?
From: Rapparee

Single malt? Fine brandy? Single barrel Kentucky bourbon? VSOP Cognac? A superb rum?


25 May 10 - 07:11 PM (#2914292)
Subject: RE: BS: Why is urine yellow?
From: Alice

Funny thing about coffee, people either love it or hate it.
I started drinking coffee when I was nine years old. There was always a "pot on" in our home. But, when I was pregnant, just the smell of coffee would make me sick.


26 May 10 - 12:57 AM (#2914407)
Subject: RE: BS: Why is urine yellow?
From: Little Hawk

Well, it smells good, Alice. I think that's a strong part of the attraction. But it tastes bloody awful....unless you either load it up with cream and sugar (as most people do) or you gradually develop "a taste for it"...as one can do with bad tasting stuff over a period of time.

Beer also tastes bloody awful at first...to a child, for example...but one can develop a taste for it later with repeated exposure. I never liked it much, but I did get sort of used to it for a few years in my early 20s to the point where I sort of liked it at times. I never liked it that much, though, and I found that it made me feel dull and sort of generally cruddy, even in rather small amounts. I never drink it at all anymore.

My general rule is, I have to like the taste of something. If it tastes sweet or savoury or like a fresh fruit or a vegetable or a stew or a soup, I like it. I like certain spicy foods too, such as Indian or Thai cuisine. I genuinely don't like the taste of most hard liquor, beer, coffee, and most "party" munchies, most of which are WAY too salty for my taste.

I like the taste of wine if it isn't too "dry" (meaning sour). I like the odd hard liquor...if it is sweet enough...Grand Marnier, for instance, tastes delicious to me.

If I don't like the taste, I'm simply not interested...regardless of whether the darned stuff gives me a "buzz" or not...

If the smell of coffee made you feel sick when you were pregnant, your body was probably telling you "that stuff is not good for you right now".


26 May 10 - 02:54 AM (#2914439)
Subject: RE: BS: Why is urine yellow?
From: mousethief

"Dry" doesn't mean "sour" in wine, it means low residual sugar. "Sour" has to do with the amount of acids. Something can have high sugar and high acids, low sugar and high acids, high sugar and low acids, or low sugar and low acids. Only the combinations with low sugar are dry; the combinations with high acids are sour.


26 May 10 - 08:54 PM (#2915001)
Subject: RE: BS: Why is urine yellow?
From: Little Hawk

It means "sour" to me. ;-D I don't care for dry wine. I like wine with high residual sugar. However, if "dry" wine doesn't mean "sour" wine to you, I can live with that.


26 May 10 - 09:44 PM (#2915025)
Subject: RE: BS: Why is urine yellow?
From: mousethief

I prefer wines that are low in sugar, low in acid, and high in tannins. Very dry but not sour.

Then again my youngest son uses "sour" when something is bitter. I wonder if he can't taste the difference. Never bothered to do a differentiation taste-test with him; doesn't really handicap him any, except when he looks foolish on a web-based discussion. <:D


26 May 10 - 09:54 PM (#2915029)
Subject: RE: BS: Why is urine yellow?
From: Don Firth

You were expecting maybe . . . plaid?

Don Firth


26 May 10 - 10:41 PM (#2915051)
Subject: RE: BS: Why is urine yellow?
From: Little Hawk

Beer is bitter. Dry wine is sour. ;-)


26 May 10 - 11:09 PM (#2915065)
Subject: RE: BS: Why is urine yellow?
From: mousethief

Plaid looks pretty foolish in online discussions too.


27 May 10 - 09:47 AM (#2915285)
Subject: RE: BS: Why is urine yellow?
From: The Fooles Troupe

Asparagus will not only colour it green, but give it a strong odour....


27 May 10 - 11:40 AM (#2915348)
Subject: RE: BS: Why is urine yellow?
From: Little Hawk

Yeah, I've noticed that too.


27 May 10 - 11:59 AM (#2915361)
Subject: RE: BS: Why is urine yellow?
From: mousethief

If it's yellow, let it mellow
If it's brown, flush it down
If it's green, ...?


27 May 10 - 12:09 PM (#2915366)
Subject: RE: BS: Why is urine yellow?
From: Micca

....Where's it been?


27 May 10 - 03:52 PM (#2915500)
Subject: RE: BS: Why is urine yellow?
From: gnu

What about cut green beans?


27 May 10 - 04:01 PM (#2915502)
Subject: RE: BS: Why is urine yellow?
From: Little Hawk

I don't think those have any noticeable effect, do they?


28 May 10 - 01:49 AM (#2915802)
Subject: RE: BS: Why is urine yellow?
From: BK Lick

I've often heard it said that the reason beer goes through one so quickly
is that it doesn't need to stop to change color.


28 May 10 - 09:40 AM (#2915957)
Subject: RE: BS: Why is urine yellow?
From: Liz the Squeak

Aw come on, you guys are just taking the piss now!

LTS


28 May 10 - 01:46 PM (#2916088)
Subject: RE: BS: Why is urine yellow?
From: GUEST,Songbob

Two things:

In Roman times, if a healer suspected diabetes, he would take a urine sample and place it (in a saucer) near an ant-hill. If the ants were quick to flock to it, there was sugar in it and the patient had diabetes.

Also, once a country doctor told his patient to bring in urine samples for him and his wife (they were both ailing). The gent arrived with two rather large Mason jars, filled with yellow liquids.

The doctor said, "Good God! Is that all urine?"

The farmer answered, "No, that un's herr'n," pointing to one of the jars.


Bob


29 May 10 - 12:42 PM (#2916627)
Subject: RE: BS: Why is urine yellow?
From: Little Hawk

All this talk, and we still don't really know why urine is yellow! When will we get to the bottom of this mystery?


29 May 10 - 03:25 PM (#2916711)
Subject: RE: BS: Why is urine yellow?
From: gnu

It is what it is. You'll just have to take a leak of faith.


29 May 10 - 10:38 PM (#2916982)
Subject: RE: BS: Why is urine yellow?
From: Riginslinger

"Why is urine yellow?"

          It runs!


30 May 10 - 01:41 AM (#2917032)
Subject: RE: BS: Why is urine yellow?
From: mousethief

I'm in up to my knees. Urine up to your neck.