Urine FAQ

This page is an attempt to compile answers to some of the more common questions regarding urinary tract issues, problems, and general knowledge.

Page Topics:

What Is Urine?
What Causes Bloody Urine?
Can Food Cause Red Urine?
Urine Color
Urine Odor
Medical Term for Red Urine
How much urine or peeing is normal?
Pet Urine

What Is Urine?

Urine is a waste product from minerals, fluids, and other substances from the blood that is processed by the kidneys.

What Causes Bloody Urine?

Red urine can be caused by

• Urinary Tract Diseases
• Urinary Tract Infections
• Urinary Tract Cancers
• Ruptured blood vessels anywhere in the urinary tract
• Red-colored foods

Red Urine Foods

Food can cause red urine for two reasons. Acidic foods can contribute to ulceration of the urinary tract and red-colored food can simply make the urine color appear red due to pigments in the diet, such as betacyanin.

• Tomato
• Beetroot
• Blueberries
• Licorice
• Iron supplements
• Pepto-Bismol

Try to avoid acidic foods until episodes of red urine go away to ensure it is not blood.

Urine Color

Urine color can be any of the following

• Amber Urine
• Red Urine (Hematuria)
• Orange Urine
• Yellow Urine
• Pale yellow, White Urine
• Cloudy Urine
• Green Urine - asparagus may turn urine green color
• Brown Urine

The color variation of pee depends upon many different factors.

Urine Odor

There are many different urine smells ranging from sweet to foul, due to a variety of chemicals excreted by the kidneys and other organs. Normal urine has little to no odor. If the urine becomes highly concentrated, urine odor may have a strong ammonia concentration. Some urine odors indicate rare urinary disorders such as the maple syrup urine disease. Different medical conditions cause different smells. Many smell-altering urinary problems are diabetes, Urinary Tract Infection, liver problems, kidney problems, metabolic disorders, and more. Learn more about different types of Urine Odor

Medical Term for Red Urine

Hematuria - blood in urine.
Gross Hematuria - visible blood in urine.

How much urine or peeing is normal?

The amount of urine produced depends on numerous factors including state of hydration, activities, environmental factors, size, and health. Adult humans average about 1-2L/day.

Polyuria - condition of excessive production of urine (> 2.5 L/day)
Oliguria - <400 mL of urine produced per day
Anuria - <100 mL per day.

Learn more about peeing.

Should I be worried if I have dark red urine?

Don't worry right away, it can be something as simple as rashes and irritations. Educate yourself in the different causes of why you might be experiencing this condition. Causes vary from harmless to life-threatening:

• RED URINE CAUSES
• URINARY PROBLEMS
• URINARY TRACT CANCER

Why do Women have more Urinary Tract Infections than Men?

• Women's urethra is short, allowing bacteria quick access to the bladder.
• Women's urethral opening is near sources of bacteria from the anus and vagina.

Is there a vaccine to prevent recurrent UTIs?

No, but researchers in different studies have found that children and women who tend to get UTIs repeatedly are likely to lack proteins called immunoglobulin, which fight infection. Additionally, some vaccines help the body learn to fight the infections.

Pet Urine

Pet urine is usually discussed as mostly

• Cat urine
• Dog urine

What is Synthetic Urine?

Synthetic urine is the artificial substance that copies look, characteristics and chemical compound of human urine. It is used in lab testing as a substitute for real urine since real human urine requires lots of maintenance, and decays rapidly.