Reference
What the colour in the bag tells you.
If you catheterise regularly, you see your urine every time. That is an advantage: changes are noticed early. This page explains what the colours mean — and when it is worth taking a closer look.
The five levels in the app
The app tracks five colours — the shades that come up regularly during daily catheterisation. Each can be selected with a single tap.
💧 Clear
Very high fluid intake. Fine with ISC as long as individual volumes stay below 400–500 ml. Discuss with your doctor if you have heart or kidney conditions.
🍋 Light yellow
Normal. The pigment urochrome is adequately diluted. Your fluid intake is on track.
🟡 Yellow
Unremarkable, but concentration is rising. Consider drinking a little more — the fluid intake page explains how much.
🟠 Dark yellow
Not enough fluid. Concentrated urine irritates the bladder lining and encourages UTIs. Drink more.
🌫️ Cloudy
Often a sign of a urinary tract infection, especially with odour, fever or increased spasticity. Occasional cloudiness can also come from mucus or sediment — if it lasts longer than a day, have the urine tested. Persistent cloudiness triggers an alert in the app.
Colours that need a doctor
These colours do not appear in the app — because they belong in a clinic, not a log.
Pink / Slightly reddish
A few pink drops after catheterisation may come from minor mucosal irritation — especially with dry or oversized catheters. If it recurs or increases: have it checked.
Red / Brown
Blood in the urine (haematuria). May come from an infection, a stone or an injury. Have it checked promptly — especially with pain, fever or, with SCI at T6 or above, signs of autonomic dysreflexia.
Orange
May come from medication (e.g. phenazopyridine), B vitamins or strong concentration. If no medication explains it: have it checked.
Greenish
Rare. May come from certain bacteria (Pseudomonas), medications or food colourings. Have it checked.
Why urine colour matters more with ISC
With a neurogenic bladder, the usual warning signs are absent: no burning, no conscious urge, often no pain. What remains is what you can see — colour, cloudiness, smell. Noting these briefly at each catheterisation catches an infection or other change earlier than any lab test.
In the Bladder & Bowel Manager app, urine colour can be recorded with a single tap. Persistent cloudiness triggers an alert. Together with the UTI symptom tracking, it builds a picture that tells more at the next appointment than memory alone.
When there is no time to wait
See a doctor promptly: Persistent reddish or brown urine, fever with flank pain, urine with a strong or unusual smell combined with fatigue or spasticity. With SCI at T6 or above: pounding headache and sweating above the level of injury — signs of autonomic dysreflexia.
Why keeping a record helps
"How long has the urine been cloudy?" — the question comes up at every appointment. A brief colour note at each catheterisation answers it without guessing. On paper, use the bladder diary template. The Bladder & Bowel Manager app makes it easier: colour and symptoms as one-tap chips, alerts for patterns and a PDF report for the next visit. Everything stays on your device.
About the author
André Bajorat has a spinal cord injury and has been self-catheterising since 2025. He built the Bladder & Bowel Manager app and writes about life with a spinal cord injury at plötzlich querschnitt. More on the about page.
Medical basis: S2k guideline on neuro-urological care of spinal cord injury patients (AWMF, 2021). This page does not replace medical advice.