The Urine
Through the ages, the urine has always been held in high esteem as an index of the body’s state of health. Its variations, amount, color, odor and clarity have meant many things to many men, but usually the importance of the urine as an indicator of disease, has been much over estimated. There are specific laboratory tests of many kinds, each designed to wrest from the urine a fact or two which may indicate certain forms of disorder to the doctor schooled in medicine. These laboratory tests in medical circles are a study in themselves, but the person unschooled in medical ways can know several important facts about his health, with only an elementary study of urine.
The volume of the daily urine in the average adult is about one and one-half quarts, depending, of course, upon habits of fluid intake. This can be easily measured by a simple recording of the urine’s volume with the use of a quart bottle. At times a large increase in the volume of the urine results from over indulgence, overeating or perhaps occasional fleeting diseases. However, a constant large increase in daily urine amounts, far exceeding one and one-half quarts may indicate the possibility of certain diseases, especially after the age of fifty years. Some of these disease possibilities are uremia, hyperthyroidism, diabetes or simply nervous people drinking too much water.
The time of urination reveals that about four times as much urine is secreted in the daytime as during sleep. This is because most of the day happens to be waking hours rather than sleeping time, and also because drinking of fluids stops during the sleeping hours. Abnormally large amounts of urine may be encountered during the sleeping hours, and occasionally are found due to poor kidney function, or beginning heart failure, where collection of fluids within the body are held until a lying-down position is assumed.
The appearance of normal urine is clear, without any haziness or sediment which may float on the urine or settle to the bottom. When the urine is cloudy or hazy, this appearance may be significant of pus, blood, crystals, or bacteria themselves. Normal urine is straw colored, but it may change to nearly any color which is probably its most noticeable variation a person will observe. A red color is usually due to blood, coming from the kidney, bladder, prostate gland, or the testicles. This, of course, is a serious finding with possibly great significance. A deep yellow or brown colored urine frequently means bile in the urine. Bile enters the urine when a person becomes jaundiced, because bile intended for excretion into bowel matter is forced in to the urinary stream.
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