# Why Is My Urine Clear? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [October 29, 2009, 2:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-my-urine-clear/515546 "2009-10-29T02:06:40Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Jim\_B](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jim_b/32/4338_2.png) [@Jim\_B](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jim_B)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2009, 2:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-my-urine-clear/515546/1 "2009-10-29T02:06:40Z")
I don’t know how long it has been this way. Probably _“at least”_ most of my adult life. But my urine is rarely yellow. It is typically **clear**. Now, to answer the inevitable questions… No, I do not drink too much liquid. Typically I just have a sip here and there of water. And I do occassionally drink pop. Oh, yes, I do drink alot of coffee. And alcohol in moderation now. Yes, I do see a doctor periodically for a general check up. He tests my blood and urine. And except for the last time when they found a little protein in my urine (IIRC, ironically when I gave urine that might have been the few times it was yellow). They usually say everything is baseline normal. Well, one of my liver enzymes is a little high. And not that it is related to my question, but I do have colitis–presently under control of course. BTW, FWIW I do also have an unrelated problem of frequent urination that I have had at least since age 9. And also, a doctor did an ultrasound of my bladder. And he said it was unusually large FWIW. So why would my urine be clear? Thank you in advance to all who reply:) ---
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2009, 2:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-my-urine-clear/515546/2 "2009-10-29T02:18:11Z")
Well, if by “a lot” of coffee you mean a LOT of coffee, then yeah - it’s not like there’s no water in coffee, you know? ---
**Author:** ![Freudian\_Slit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5daacb/32.png) [@Freudian\_Slit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freudian_Slit)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2009, 2:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-my-urine-clear/515546/3 "2009-10-29T02:20:40Z")
I thought clear urine was a good thing. A sign that you’re well hydrated and so on. ---
**Author:** ![Ruby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/13edae/32.png) [@Ruby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ruby)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2009, 2:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-my-urine-clear/515546/4 "2009-10-29T02:38:41Z")
Mine is typically clear when I’ve been drinking a lot of fluids. I can’t explain why it would be clear if you’re not drinking lots of soda/water/etc. ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2009, 3:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-my-urine-clear/515546/5 "2009-10-29T03:08:35Z")
I’m guessing it means you’re properly hydrated. Most people are somewhat underhydrated in their daily lives. ---
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2009, 4:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-my-urine-clear/515546/6 "2009-10-29T04:09:23Z")
I’ve always been told that clear is wrong - you want pale yellow. Clear means your kidneys are working too hard, dark yellow means you need to drink more. ---
**Author:** ![Askance](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/askance/32/8281_2.png) [@Askance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Askance)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2009, 5:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-my-urine-clear/515546/7 "2009-10-29T05:04:41Z")
> [@Jim\_B](#): > > No, **I do not drink too much liquid**. Typically I just have a sip here and there of water. And I do occassionally drink pop. Oh, yes, **I do drink alot of coffee**. And alcohol in moderation now. DingDingDing! You contradict yourself here … coffee is a diuretic. But you almost certainly have nothing to worry about, drinking somewhat above normal amounts of water-based drinks won’t cause you any medical problem, as long as your diet is reasonably healthy. ---
**Author:** ![Jormungandr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/a6a055/32.png) [@Jormungandr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jormungandr)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2009, 1:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-my-urine-clear/515546/8 "2009-10-29T13:11:52Z")
Clear urine means you’re hydrated. The more yellow in your urine, the more dehydrated you are. As for the enzymes, I have had that as well. Upon a retest, it was gone and my doctor told me it was probably an infection that my body fought off. ---
**Author:** ![Chief\_Pedant](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a6a055/32.png) [@Chief\_Pedant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chief_Pedant)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2009, 1:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-my-urine-clear/515546/9 "2009-10-29T13:48:42Z")
Assuming that your assessment of the color is accurate, your urine is clear because it contains a lower concentration of the bilirubin breakdown products which cause urine to be yellow in the first place. If your physiology is otherwise normal, this is most typically related to how dilute your urine is. It is not very likely that you have an unusally small amount of bilirubin to be discarded. Since the absolute quantity of urobilins remains the same, the degree to which it colors the urine is usually dependent upon the volume of free water in which it’s being diluted. An easy way to test whether or not you concentrate urine properly is to go without taking in any fluids for a period of time and see if your urine darkens–i.e. becomes a more dense yellow. There are a number of disorders related to water metabolism which cause some people to concentrate urine poorly, either because the kidneys don’t respond properly or because the appropriate chemical pathways are impaired or because something else (high blood sugar, e.g.) is causing an osmotic drag that prevents the kidneys from concentrating urine (see, for instance, nephrogenic and central diabetes insipidus). A lab test for urine includes a specific gravity, so if you get hold of yours, you’ll be able to know whether or not that particular sample was very dilute or not. If your urine is sometimes darker than others, it’s likely that your perception of how little fluid you take in is incorrect, because it suggests you concentrate urine normally. ---
**Author:** ![AskNott](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asknott/32/5790_2.png) [@AskNott](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AskNott)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2009, 5:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-my-urine-clear/515546/10 "2009-10-29T17:09:08Z")
Urine color is a question that comes up now and then on this message board. In one of those previous times, a member who worked in a medical lab posted to say that he had seen and tested thousands of urine samples from healthy and ill patients. He said the depth of color is not a sign of good or bad health. Healthy people’s urine ranged from clear to very dark. Don’t fret about the color, he said. Some multivitamin pills temporarily darken the urine, and that’s also nothing to worry about. ---
**Author:** ![Heart\_of\_Dorkness](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/4bbf92/32.png) [@Heart\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Heart_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2009, 5:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-my-urine-clear/515546/11 "2009-10-29T17:15:48Z")
IANAD, and this isn’t even what you were asking, but I’m a little surprised that you have colitis and yet drink a lot of coffee. I would think it would aggravate the problem. Same with alcohol. ---
**Author:** ![Si\_Amigo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/si_amigo/32/2877_2.png) [@Si\_Amigo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Si_Amigo)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2009, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-my-urine-clear/515546/12 "2009-10-29T17:16:38Z")
I once failed a drug test due to my urine being clear and not up to body temperature, they refused to test it for that reason. ☹ I got a lawyer and they ran the test again with a doctor present with me in the bathroom. Same result, but the doctor told them that he watched it come out of me and that he would testify that it was a valid urine sample, that urine did not need to be a certain color or temperature to be urine. I got the job. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![salinqmind](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3ec8ea/32.png) [@salinqmind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/salinqmind)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2009, 5:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-my-urine-clear/515546/13 "2009-10-29T17:23:46Z")
I heard a medical show on the radio and the doctor said in general as long as there is no blood in your urine, you’re OK. Mine was day-glo chartreuse for the longest time, but I wasn’t eating hardly anything because of stress and anxiety. ---
**Author:** ![billfish678](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7bcc69/32.png) [@billfish678](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/billfish678)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2009, 5:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-my-urine-clear/515546/14 "2009-10-29T17:29:09Z")
Dude, If you are a Scientologist, you finally made it ! ---
**Author:** ![rekkah](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/ee59a6/32.png) [@rekkah](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rekkah)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2009, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-my-urine-clear/515546/15 "2009-10-31T16:38:08Z")
> [@Chief\_Pedant](#): > > An easy way to test whether or not you concentrate urine properly is to go without taking in any fluids for a period of time and see if your urine darkens–i.e. becomes a more dense yellow. This should be tried with caution, since if the person does have an inability to concentrate urine they will become dehydrated very quickly. When it’s done as part of medical testing for conditions like Diabetes Insipidus, it’s done under careful supervision and the patient is weighed every hour to check they aren’t losing fluid at a dangerous rate. ---
**Author:** ![SmackFu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/53a042/32.png) [@SmackFu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SmackFu)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2009, 5:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-my-urine-clear/515546/16 "2009-10-31T17:55:56Z")
> [@Si\_Amigo](#): > > Same result, but the doctor told them that he watched it come out of me and that he would testify that it was a valid urine sample, that urine did not need to be a certain color or temperature to be urine. I got the job. 😃 I don’t think they reject clear urine because it’s not urine, but because it’s a sign that you are drinking a lot to dilute your urine and decrease your drug levels. ---
**Author:** ![gutterflower](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/eada6e/32.png) [@gutterflower](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gutterflower)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2011, 3:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-my-urine-clear/515546/17 "2011-11-08T03:14:22Z")
You say you drink a lot of coffee, as some have said, coffee is a diuretic so you’ll be urinating a lot. However, as you don’t drink much water during the day, I would wonder that your kidneys would try to conserve the little water it gets by concentrating the urine (thus making it more yellow). Normal urine is not supposed to be clear (as in, transparent etc.). It’s supposed to be pale yellow. That shows your kidneys have the ability to concentrate urine. I would suggest you go off of coffee, tea, soda pop (i’m guessing that’s what you meant by “pop”?) and alcohol (all of which are diuretics) to see if this makes any difference in the appearance of your urine. Maybe for a week for best results. This would help determine whether the problem is any of those things you were drinking or if there’s a problem with the kidney function etc. I would then definitely share the results with your doctor. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2011, 3:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-my-urine-clear/515546/18 "2011-11-08T03:41:22Z")
Me, I’m wondering how **Si Amigo** could possibly have urine that was below body temperature. I can’t think of any conceivable biological mechanism that would cool it, in humans or any other creature. ---
**Author:** ![Shmendrik](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ee7513/32.png) [@Shmendrik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shmendrik)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2011, 3:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-my-urine-clear/515546/19 "2011-11-08T03:54:21Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > Me, I’m wondering how **Si Amigo** could possibly have urine that was below body temperature. I can’t think of any conceivable biological mechanism that would cool it, in humans or any other creature. Uncorrected [bladder exstrophy](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bladder_exstrophy) should do it. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2011, 4:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-my-urine-clear/515546/20 "2011-11-08T04:02:57Z")
_When you say ‘Bud’ You say a beer that makes your urine oh, so clear!_ Or something like that. I’ll have to dig out the _New Wave Theatre_ DVDs… [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-my-urine-clear/515546.md?page=2)