Nephrologist (Kidney Specialist) Questions Dark urine

What can be the cause of my dark colored urine?

I'm 24, and I noticed that my urine is very dark and it has been happening for about two weeks. Is this serious? What could be causing this?

3 Answers

-Eat water lemon
-Drinking one cup water per hour
-Sleep 8 hours

All of the above are going to clear the urine color.
Thanks for your question! There's a couple of thoughts that come to my mind. In a healthy 24 year old person, this is not a typical finding unless if you mean dark yellow in which case you might not be hydrating enough. However, if the urine is amber red or brown, is the truly unusual finding, and there's a few things that come to my mind. Number one, in a person who is very athletic or working out strenuously, there are certain conditions that lead to premature or excessive muscle breakdown and discolor the urine. Number two, there are certain medications. Color the urine darker. And number three, there are some more severe and concerning immune conditions that can color the urine dark. The first step is to take a urinalysis to see if there's actually blood in your urine. If we can be of any assistance in evaluating you, don't hesitate to let us know.

Dr. B
Get your urine tested