ORANGE wee

Hey all, Dp is pretty sick atm. Cough/cold/nausea, generally all around yuk. He has been to the Dr's already but he WEE is really bothering me.

Yesterday he showed me (lol) and it was AMBER. He has never been a big water drinker but was trying hard. By yesterday evening he had been doing his best to drink more and its still a heavy orange colour. He said he told the dr, who said to drink more water etc, but it worries me.

I think he looks a bit yellow this morning (him, not the wee), he had a liver function test not long ago and it was perfect.

Im worried about his kidneys, why isn't the water changing his wee back to a normal colour?

Tough one lulu - i'd get a second doc's opinion.

Hope he feels better soon

Urine should be a pale straw colour to almost clear, I would say your Dp is dehydrated. If he's vomiting and has a lot of mucus, he'll be losing water that way. If he is taking Codral or something like that, that will be drying him out too. I've seen that colour wee before, and I don't think it's really anything to get too concerned about...it's just a sign that someone is really dehydrated (like after a big night out drinking). Increasing the water intake should see the wee return to a more normal colour over the course of the day.

I know it's hard for people who don't like water but he really needs to drink a lot more, especially while he is sick. Try ice water if he is feeling nauseous, tiny sips - I could only have icy cold water when I had morning sickness. Give it to him in a water bottle so he can keep track of how much he has actually drunk. See if you can get him to drink at least 1.5 litres over the course of today. Maybe mix it with cordial? Herbal tea? Lemon and honey drink mixed with hot water? Have some big mouthfuls of water in the shower?

He may still find that he doesn't need to go to the toilet much today because his body will use the water for other things before expelling it in urine. His organs will need rehydrating, his body will probably manufacture more mucus to fight the infection (lucky him). All that takes water and will take priority over the urine.

ETA: 1.5 litres may not be enough, ideally he needs to keep drinking until he is urinating fairly regularly, and a decent amount, not just a dribble! Another way to tell if you are dehydrated is to check the tips of your fingers. If they are at all wrinkly, even slightly (like how your fingers get when they have been soaked in water for a long time) it is an indication of dehydration.

It can take a few days to recover from dehydration as well, so maybe he will take a bit longer. I drink 2 litres of water a day average.

Excellent post Curly!

I agree it probably is just dehydration... but it could be an indication of blood in the urine... maybe a kidney problem. Does he have any discomfort? Does he even feel "hot" around the kidneys?

Another way of getting fluids into a relucatant person is to offer broth.... clear chicken soup is great when you are sick. A nice big bowl. He really needs to deal with the ongoing dehydration... tell him it's like driving a car with an empty or near empty water tank.... guys often respond well to car analogies... LOL

Has he been taking any vitamins while he's sick?? 'Cause sometimes they can change the colour of your wee too.

Otherwise, a little bit of blood in his urine, which more than likely indicates a UTI or a bladder infection rather than a kidney problem. Just a lot harder to diagnose in a man since it doesn't have the physical discomfort/symptoms that a woman gets from a UTI.

...unless he has kidney crystals/stones forming... that can cause blood to be present.... I had a test for this recently actually. Thankfully no crystals!!!

Can he stomach some of the rehydrating ice-blocks from the chemist?

Thank you everyone.

It improved slightly after drinking a fair bit, but yesterday he woke feeling so terribly ill that he took himself to the Drs without an appointment and asked for help.

The doc was kicking himself that he didn't take a proper look at his wee, and stuck him straight onto a drip at the clinic. He said he should have admitted him on Thursday when he was first seen.

Well today he is still really bad (although he ate really well last night) and he has woken up with yellow eyes instead of white.
I've filled a jug with 2 ltrs water and he must drink half by lunch time.

Not good really, if his tummy wasnt so upset he would be able to drink more.....

LULU, if he doesn't improve, take him to the hospital and they'll rehydrate him properly - might even put up a "banana bag" which has more nutrients in it than a standard saline drip. if he can eat, maybe get him to have a banana itself - lots of nutrients, fairly easy to digest...

chooken soup (broth type) will help to rehydrate him as well...