by Jonte Rhodes

Created on: December 16, 2008

Cloudy urine is one of the most common symptoms of many diverse issues, both related to the urinary tract itself and to many other parts of the body. Similarly changes in the color of the urine can also be good indicators of many illnesses, and when both symptoms are displayed together, diagnosing the problem is generally a lot easier.

Cloudy urine itself is often caused by bacteria being present in the ladder or kidneys. When urination occurs, usually any bacteria that is present is flushed out and expelled from the body. However if urination has not occurred for a few hours, due to either dehydration or from being asleep, then the bacteria will have ad time to multiply and build up. This is often why cloudy urine is more often experienced in the early morning, and becomes less visible during the day.

One of the most common causes of color changes and a clouded appearance to the urine is urinary tract infections. These are often accompanied with burning pain when passing urine, and are best treated with antibiotics following a diagnosis.

Some of the time however cloudy urine can be caused by a variety of benign causes that pose no risk to health at all. For example drinking a lot of milk before you go to sleep might temporarily cause cloudy urine the next day. However far from being bacteria this is just caused by calcium crystals that have built up in the bladder during the night.

Also there are numerous causes such as changes in diet or medications that can cause cloudy urine or color changes to the urine as a side effect. Most of these will be listed in the small print on most medications, although finding the causes in diets can often be more difficult.

The most obvious color change that urine can undergo is to become more dark or clear, which is usually reflective of the fluid levels in the body at the time. If the body is well hydrated, then the urine tends to be more clear, as urination is occurring more frequently. However if the body is dehydrated, then the chemicals and bacteria that may be present in the urine are more concentrated, and so the urine is darker.

If the urine seems to be a strange color, but appears to be clear, then the source of the color change may well be caused by food. Several different types of food can for example give the urine a red tinge, which many people mistake for blood.

Similarly certain foods can give the urine a brownish color or even a green appearance. In these cases the color changes are usually only present for the day

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