What should you know about dark green urine means?

Urine can look darker when it is concentrated after sweating, vomiting, diarrhoea or not drinking enough. Food dyes and some medicines can also alter colour. Green urine is uncommon, so a clinician may need to consider liver or bile-related illness, including hepatitis A or hepatitis B, particularly if there is yellowing of the skin or eyes, pale stools, nausea, itching or unusual tiredness. Dark urine is a broader symptom than green urine; lighting, a coloured toilet bowl and cleaning products can mislead you. A single observation is less informative than a colour change that persists or comes with other symptoms.

Check the colour in a clean, clear container or in good light, and review any new medicine, supplement, food dye or sports drink. Sip water regularly unless a clinician has restricted your fluids. Do not stop a prescribed medicine without advice. Record when the change began and whether you have pain, fever, burning, reduced urination, yellow skin, pale stools or vomiting. If heat exposure or heavy sweating preceded the change, move to a cool place and replace fluids gradually; information about heat exhaustion may help you recognise related symptoms.

Seek urgent help for confusion, fainting, severe weakness, inability to drink, very little urine, severe pain, fever with feeling very unwell, or yellow skin or eyes. Arrange prompt assessment when green or very dark urine does not clear after hydration, has no obvious food or medicine explanation, or comes with pale stools, vomiting or abdominal discomfort. A urine test and blood tests may help identify the cause.

Could my medicines, supplements or recent heat exposure explain this colour? Do I need urine or liver tests? What fluid intake is suitable for me, and which symptoms should prompt urgent review?