Experiencing Dark Orange Urine?

Overview of Dark Orange Urine

Urine may be considered bodily waste, but an irregular color of this by-product, such as dark orange urine, can provide telling clues towards one’s health. Dark orange urine can by a symptom of hepatitis C, a blood-borne virus that causes liver damage. In other cases, off-color urine may simply be a reflection of what you ate that day.

Causes of Dark Orange Urine

The following conditions may cause discolored or dark orange urine:

• Sexually transmitted diseases. The following STDs are spread through unprotected sex or contact with infected blood and affect the liver:
  • Hepatitis C
  • Hepatitis B
• Cirrhosis, scarring of the liver. This is a common complication of hepatitis C.
• Certain foods or food dyes.
• Drugs or supplements, particularly vitamin B or laxatives.
• Urinary tract infection. UTIs often cause murky, discolored urine. Medications used to treat UTIs may also cause discolored urine.

Diagnosing Dark Orange Urine

Since dark orange urine is a symptom of hepatitis C, STD testing is recommended. STD and hepatitis C testing performed through a simple blood sample and is available at a local lab. Results are available within a few short days.

If you are not sexually active but still experiencing possible hepatitis C symptoms, you will still need to get tested. Hepatitis C can be spread through non-sexual blood contact, blood transfusions, organ transplants and IV needle sharing.

Also, take note of what foods you are eating and what drugs you have taken. B vitamins, certain laxatives and carotene may turn the urine dark orange.

Treating Dark Orange Urine

When dark orange urine is a symptom of hepatitis C, treatment depends on the stage of infection. An acute (newly acquired) infection may not require any treatment. A chronic hepatitis C infection is treated with antiviral medication.

Treatment for hepatitis C requires a doctor’s guidance and on-going monitoring. Many other conditions that cause urine that is dark orange, such as hepatitis B or cirrhosis, require a doctor’s supervision. Other causes, like eating certain foods or taking certain vitamins, are harmless and may not require treatment.