What should you know about dark urine and hepatitis?

When the liver is inflamed, bile pigments can build up in the blood and pass into urine, making it tea-coloured or brown. Hepatitis may also cause yellowing of the eyes or skin, pale stools, tiredness, nausea, poor appetite, discomfort under the right ribs, or a fever. Some people have few symptoms. Dark urine by itself does not establish hepatitis; concentrated urine after fluid loss can be deep yellow, while food, supplements, and medicines may also alter colour.

Arrange a clinician review if dark urine persists, returns, or appears with yellow eyes, pale stool, nausea, unusual tiredness, abdominal discomfort, or fever. Tell the clinician about recent travel, food or water exposures, close contact with someone who was unwell, medicines, supplements, and possible blood or sexual exposures. Do not share razors or toothbrushes while a blood-borne infection is being considered, and avoid alcohol until you have received advice.

Seek urgent help for confusion, extreme sleepiness, repeated vomiting, severe abdominal pain, fainting, bleeding that will not stop, or inability to keep fluids down. Yellowing with rapidly worsening illness also needs prompt assessment. If you are pregnant, immunocompromised, or have known liver disease, contact a clinician sooner rather than waiting for symptoms to develop.

Ask whether liver tests, urine testing, or hepatitis testing are needed; whether close contacts need advice; and which medicines, supplements, foods, or activities to avoid while results are pending. Share the exact colour change and its timing.