What does dark-coloured urine mean?

Urine often becomes deeper yellow when the body has less fluid available. Heat, sweating, vomiting or diarrhoea can make this more noticeable. Brown, tea-coloured or cola-coloured urine is different from ordinary concentrated yellow urine. Liver or bile problems can darken urine, sometimes alongside yellowing of the eyes or skin, pale stools, itching or discomfort under the ribs. Blood, muscle breakdown and some medicines can also alter urine colour. Dark urine is a symptom, not a diagnosis; the colour alone cannot identify its cause.

Notice the exact shade, smell and timing, and consider recent exercise, heat exposure, illness, foods and medicines. If you can drink normally and have no warning symptoms, take regular fluids and see whether the urine becomes lighter. Do not stop prescribed medicine without advice. A clinician may ask for a urine sample and blood tests if the change persists or returns. Read more about [Dehydration](/conditions/dehydration/) and [Dark Urine](/symptoms/dark-urine/).

Seek urgent care for dark urine with severe weakness, confusion, fainting, very little urine, severe abdominal pain, fever, yellow eyes or skin, or blood in the urine. Arrange prompt medical advice if the colour stays dark despite drinking, keeps recurring, or follows strenuous activity with marked muscle pain. Heat exposure with dizziness, headache, nausea or weakness can signal [Heat Exhaustion](/conditions/heat-exhaustion/).

Ask: What shade does this urine suggest? Could dehydration, a medicine or liver problem explain it? Do I need urine or blood testing? Which changes should prompt urgent review?