# Clear urine: bad or good? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [January 21, 2013, 12:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/clear-urine-bad-or-good/647852 "2013-01-21T00:27:46Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![evasgram](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ec9cab/32.png) [@evasgram](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/evasgram)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2013, 4:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/clear-urine-bad-or-good/647852/21 "2013-01-21T04:07:13Z")
I am also diabetic (T1) and can tell when I’m getting in trouble by looking at my urine. When I’ve been too high for too long it gets very clear. A couple of weeks ago I spent a week in ICU because I had ketoacidosis (a diabetic thing). Even though they were pumping me full of fluids, my urine got very dark. That seemed weird to me. ---
**Author:** ![Hazle\_Weatherfield](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Hazle\_Weatherfield](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hazle_Weatherfield)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2013, 4:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/clear-urine-bad-or-good/647852/22 "2013-01-21T04:55:45Z")
> [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](#): > > Dr. Oz is **not** a good source of medical information. He advocates a LOT of woo and poorly supported health practices. He ignores a lot of sound evidenced base medicine. He’s a shameless self-promoter, IMHO. > > And urine should be clear, not cloudy. Who’s advocating for cloudy urine?? 😕 > > You can drink too much water, but it’s very difficult. Avoid water-chugging contests and you’ll be fine. > > If you’ve got chronic kidney disease, follow your physician’s advice on what to do. To clarify: by clear, I meant colorless, not cloudy. Sorry for the confusion. ---
**Author:** ![Hazle\_Weatherfield](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Hazle\_Weatherfield](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hazle_Weatherfield)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2013, 4:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/clear-urine-bad-or-good/647852/23 "2013-01-21T04:59:01Z")
> [@needscoffee](#): > > Clear as in colorless means you’re drinking excess water. Your kidneys can process it, but why make them? This is what I was thinking, too. ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2013, 5:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/clear-urine-bad-or-good/647852/24 "2013-01-21T05:01:10Z")
> [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](#): > > And urine should be clear, not cloudy. Who’s advocating for cloudy urine?? 😕 “Clear” is a surprisingly ambiguous term to laypeople. They think we’re asking about the color, not the consistency. In their minds, the spectrum goes: Clear—\>dark yellow. I get “clear” as an answer for color a lot. If I want to know color AND consistency, I have to be careful to ask it as two separate questions. And, especially for young people, account for the B vitamins in energy drinks. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2013, 5:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/clear-urine-bad-or-good/647852/25 "2013-01-21T05:18:04Z")
Clear urine means you’re well hydrated. More characteristics have to be examined to determine anything else. For instance, the best symptom to determine if you have water intoxication is drinking tremendous amounts of water, not clear urine. And now for one of my favorite jokes: When I first developed kidney problems the doctor asked me to collect urine for 24 hours. I had bottles all over the place until I realized he only wanted mine. ---
**Author:** ![moriah](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b2d939/32.png) [@moriah](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/moriah)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2013, 5:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/clear-urine-bad-or-good/647852/26 "2013-01-21T05:27:00Z")
> [@runner pat](#): > > Some things are just known to be. This is one of them. What color do _you_ think it should be? The statement “should be yellow” is wrong since clear without a yellow tint is also OK. Should be clear or lightly tinted yellow. ---
**Author:** ![drewtwo99](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d07c76/32.png) [@drewtwo99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drewtwo99)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2013, 5:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/clear-urine-bad-or-good/647852/27 "2013-01-21T05:44:41Z")
> [@moriah](#): > > The statement “should be yellow” is wrong since clear without a yellow tint is also OK. > > Should be clear or lightly tinted yellow. Holy \*\*\*\*. We _just_ had a discussion wherein other posters just explained that clear does NOT mean colorless. You can have clear urine that is yellow. You can have colorless urine that is cloudy. So it’s silly to say “should be clear or lightly tinted yellow”. Urine should ALWAYS be clear, if it is cloudy that usually indicates an infection or some other health problem (I am not a doctor). As far as color is concerned, it should be colorless or tinted a slight but not dark yellow. Colorless does NOT mean clear. Can we please get this straight from now on? ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2013, 6:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/clear-urine-bad-or-good/647852/28 "2013-01-21T06:40:00Z")
Many of you are confusing “clear” with “colorless.” Not so. Water is clear and colorless. A cola is clear, but not colorless. Milk is not clear, but colorless. Chocolate milk is not clear and not colorless. (Chemistry 101) ---
**Author:** ![Ambivalid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a5b964/32.png) [@Ambivalid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ambivalid)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2013, 7:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/clear-urine-bad-or-good/647852/29 "2013-01-21T07:00:20Z")
> [@panache45](#): > > Milk is not clear, but colorless. Milk is white. White is a color. Milk is not colorless. ---
**Author:** ![Doggo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/87869e/32.png) [@Doggo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doggo)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2013, 8:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/clear-urine-bad-or-good/647852/30 "2013-01-21T08:37:52Z")
I might be repeating, but IMO clear as in colourless urine might be a problem, and should see a Dr. Cloudy urine is definitely wrong. Seek help. ---
**Author:** ![Mathematics](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f6c823/32.png) [@Mathematics](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mathematics)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2013, 9:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/clear-urine-bad-or-good/647852/31 "2013-01-21T09:10:14Z")
I was going to say that my urine is often pretty much colorless unless I go an abnormally long period without water, but then I realized that it is probably being diluted by the toilet water and thus could actually be more yellow than it appears. I’m not looking to do any tests of this hypothesis, but it’s one factor to consider. Ultimately, I’m healthy as far as I can tell, so I don’t worry about it much. ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2013, 1:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/clear-urine-bad-or-good/647852/32 "2013-01-21T13:37:41Z")
Woah, woah, woah…let’s take a step back here. While cloudy urine can be an indication that something is wrong, it’s not always. Please don’t panic if you have cloudy urine and no other symptoms. Cloudy urine can happen when you’ve had a large meal or if you’re drinking a lot of milk (when your kidneys process out extra phosphate, they make cloudy urine). If you’re a woman, your urine may be cloudy certain times of the month when your cervical mucus is thick or it’s just been a little too long since you’ve showered. Cloudy urine \*can \*be a sign of infection, abnormal protein or kidney stones, but it’s not, alone, reason to run to the ER unless you have some underlying health disorder. It may be worth a call to your doctor and/or keeping an eye on, but it’s not a panic symptom. Blood in your urine is far more worrisome (and even that isn’t always doomsday.) ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2013, 5:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/clear-urine-bad-or-good/647852/33 "2013-01-21T17:59:31Z")
> [@Ambivalid](#): > > Milk is white. White is a color. Milk is not colorless. [It depends.](http://www.colormatters.com/color-and-design/are-black-and-white-colors) ---
**Author:** ![chiroptera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/df705f/32.png) [@chiroptera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chiroptera)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2013, 6:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/clear-urine-bad-or-good/647852/34 "2013-01-21T18:38:13Z")
Urine color might depend on what you’ve eaten, or certain vitamins. The color of your pee can be quite alarming after eating a lot of beets (sort of red) or asparagus (definite green tinge and, umm, quite aromatic) or a lot of B vitamins (very bright yellow.) ---
**Author:** ![PatriotX](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c4cdca/32.png) [@PatriotX](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PatriotX)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2013, 7:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/clear-urine-bad-or-good/647852/35 "2013-01-21T19:26:19Z")
How do I get the fluorescent green urine mentioned up thread? Must have ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2013, 8:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/clear-urine-bad-or-good/647852/36 "2013-01-21T20:28:02Z")
> [@chiroptera](#): > > The color of your pee can be quite alarming after eating a lot of beets (sort of red)… When I got a new vegetable juicer, I tried juicing several beets, the product of which I drank. A short time later, I was horrified when I took a leak, and it was not just sort of red, it was dark red. ---
**Author:** ![Seanette](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/seanette/32/9139_2.png) [@Seanette](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Seanette)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2013, 9:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/clear-urine-bad-or-good/647852/37 "2013-01-21T21:12:08Z")
> [@chiroptera](#): > > Urine color might depend on what you’ve eaten, or certain vitamins. > > The color of your pee can be quite alarming after eating a lot of beets (sort of red) or asparagus (definite green tinge and, umm, quite aromatic) or a lot of B vitamins (very bright yellow.) OK, that pins down the canary yellow I saw yesterday. I had taken a multi-vitamin with a lot of B vitamins in it (supposed to be good for hair, skin, and nails). This is reassuring. 🙂 My husband offered me some methylene blue if I didn’t like the yellow. I declined. ---
**Author:** ![drewtwo99](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d07c76/32.png) [@drewtwo99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drewtwo99)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2013, 9:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/clear-urine-bad-or-good/647852/38 "2013-01-21T21:18:14Z")
Some antibiotic I took once made my pee a very rusty orange color. At first I thought it was bloody urine but then I remembered the warning about the antibiotic 😃 ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2013, 9:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/clear-urine-bad-or-good/647852/39 "2013-01-21T21:34:39Z")
> [@Seanette](#): > > OK, that pins down the canary yellow I saw yesterday. I had taken a multi-vitamin with a lot of B vitamins in it (supposed to be good for hair, skin, and nails). > > This is reassuring. 🙂 > > My husband offered me some methylene blue if I didn’t like the yellow. I declined. Which would be how you achieve the bright green color **PatriotX** wants. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Lynn\_Bodoni](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e47c2d/32.png) [@Lynn\_Bodoni](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lynn_Bodoni)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2013, 7:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/clear-urine-bad-or-good/647852/40 "2013-01-22T07:27:54Z")
> [@drewtwo99](#): > > Some antibiotic I took once made my pee a very rusty orange color. At first I thought it was bloody urine but then I remembered the warning about the antibiotic 😃 Heh, I had the same thing happen to me. I was worried sick for a while. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/clear-urine-bad-or-good/647852.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/clear-urine-bad-or-good/647852.md?page=3)