How to make my pee pee bigger

Nobody talks about urine in polite company, but it says a lot about you. Its odor, consistency and color are all tell-tale indicators of your lifestyle and well-being, ranging from what you’ve been eating and drinking lately to diseases you might not know you have.

Urine is mostly water (at least 95 percent), but the remainder is a surprisingly complex brew of ingredients that include urea, chloride, sodium, potassium, creatinine and other dissolved ions, plus various inorganic and organic compounds. The most common color of urine is yellow, which is caused by the presence of urobilin, a biochemical waste product generated from the breakdown of old red blood cells. (Your body makes about 2 million new red blood cells every day, and recycles an equal number of old ones.)

Here’s a handy color chart next time you’re standing around, wondering:

1. Transparent. Colorless urine may indicate over-hydration. While not as dangerous as dehydration, over-hydration can dilute essential salts, such as electrolytes, creating a problematic chemical imbalance in the blood.  

2. Pale straw color. Normal, healthy, well-hydrated.

3. Transparent yellow. Normal.

4. Dark yellow. Normal, but suggestive of mild dehydration.

5. Amber or honey. Possibly dehydrated. Note: A lot of popular sites recommend drinking water to address some of the colors above, but Dena Rifkin MD, a staff nephrologist at UC San Diego Health and assistant professor of medicine, suggests prudence. “I never advise people to examine their urine color for hydration and never would recommend hydrating based on urine color. Instead, ‘drink to thirst.' The eight glasses of water per day is an urban myth as far as most physicians are concerned and the only people who should be concerned about drinking more are those with a history of kidney stones.”

6. Light orange. Possibly dehydrated, but may also be caused by liver or bile duct problems, consumed food dyes or the excretion of excess B vitamins from bloodstream. Talk to your doctor.

7. Orange. Some medications, such as rifampin or phenazopyridine, can cause this coloration. Ask your doctor.

8. Dark orange or brown. A possible symptom of jaundice, rhabdomyolysis or Gilbert’s syndrome. Also caused by severe dehydration. See your doctor.

9. Pink. For some people, eating beets, blueberries or rhubarb can do this. “If you’ve eaten beets and have urine color changes, you do not need to see a doctor,” said Rifkin. On the other hand, a pinkish hue might be a first indicator of a bigger problem. See red.

10. Red. This color could be a worrisome sign of many things. Blood in the urine, called hematuria, can be benign, idiopathic or a sign of a kidney stone, infection or tumor in the urinary tract. It may signal a problem with the prostate. Or possible lead or mercury poisoning. Or a group of rare inherited disorders known as porphyrias. Red urine is a red flag to immediately consult a physician.

11. Green. Eating asparagus does this for some people, though many more people note the vegetable’s odorous effect upon their urine. Some medications and food dyes produce harmless green urine too, but it can also signal a bacterial infection in the urinary tract. Ask your doctor.

12. Blue. Some medications and food dyes produce bluish urine. So too does a rare inherited metabolic disorder known as familial hypercalcemia or “blue diaper syndrome,” which is characterized by incomplete intestinal breakdown of tryptophan, a dietary nutrient. Consult a physician.

13. Dark brown or black. Benign causes include ingesting large amounts of rhubarb, fava beans or aloe. Some medications darken urine too. More worrisome, however, are potential causes like copper or phenol poisoning or melanoma, which can result in blackish urine called melanuria. See your doctor.

14. White or milky. This may be caused by an overabundance of certain minerals, such as calcium or phosphate, a urinary tract infection or excessive proteins. Consult your doctor.

Related Specialties

Urology

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You shake and bounce, but a stray drop or two of pee still trickles into your underwear as you leave the restroom. Is the O-ring in your penis defective or something?

"I talk to men all the time who worry about this, but it's not a big deal," says Joseph Sonstein, M.D., a urologist with the University of Texas Medical Branch. (Whew.) Your urethra—the hollow tube that carries urine from your bladder to the tip of your penis—forms a slight upside-down U shape, Dr. Sonstein explains. And there's inevitably a little pee left over in your U when you finish urinating, which gravity causes to leak out after you've zipped up, he adds.

"It can be a bigger problem for men who have a weak stream, because the lack of force leaves more pee behind to dribble out," Dr. Sonstein adds. A weak stream could be a sign of an enlarged prostate or inflammation, which is common among older guys. But for most young men, a little leakage is nothing to stress about.

Click ahead to discover the answers to your biggest penis-related mysteries.

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Why does some semen always show up late to the party?

Like that drop or two of leftover urine, some ejaculate leaks out a few minutes after you've had an orgasm. Dr. Sonstein says the explanation is the same as before: "Semen is just a little more viscous, so it takes more time for gravity to work it out of your urethra," he says.

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Why does your penis shrink when wet?

Despite what George Costanza says, it's not the wetness that does it. It's the chill of exposing your genitals to cool air or water that causes the "shrinkage," Dr. Sonstein says. Your scrotum hangs outside of your body because your sperm need very specific temperatures to thrive. Muscles in your scrotum and along the "spermatic cord" that leads down from your penis to each testicle contract when you're cold, pulling your scrotum up toward your body. And this contraction tightens your penis muscles and tissue as well, shrinking it, Dr. Sonstein says. (The opposite happens when you're hot, causing your testicles and penis to hang farther from your body, he adds.)

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Why do you pitch a tent every morning?

Your testosterone levels peak in the A.M., which explains your perky member, Dr. Sonstein says. There's also some evidence you become erect—even when you're not aroused—in order to maintain proper sexual function. "It's sort of the old 'if you don't use it, you lose it' thing," Dr. Sonstein adds. So that explains your otherwise curious midday, driving-in-your-car boners.

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Why do some men experience "wet dreams"?

Again, this is probably the result of elevated testosterone levels, which rise while you sleep, says Dr. Sonstein. "That's why adolescent men, whose testosterone levels tend to be really high, experience more wet dreams than older men." Dr. Sonstein says there's some anecdotal evidence—but no proof—that wet dreams occur more often when a lot of time has passed between your orgasms, and so this could be your body's way of making room for fresher sperm supplies.

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Why does your urine sometimes shoot out at a strange angle?

Your urine stream's "crazy Ivan" schtick tends to occur after sex, after masturbation, or in the morning if you ejaculated just before bed—or while you slept—Dr. Sonstein says. Why? It's nearly always because a little semen is still hanging out in your urethra from your last orgasm, which creates an obstruction. If the odd angle doesn't go away soon, it could be a sign of scar tissue or an STD, Dr. Sonstein adds.

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Why do some men's penises become so much larger when erect, while others' grow very little?

Maybe you've heard some guys are "growers, not showers." At least anecdotally, that seems to be true. "Men who are smaller when flaccid tend to get much longer when erect," Dr. Sonstein says. "Whereas men who are long when flaccid tend to get harder, but not that much bigger. It's all just genetics."

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Why is urine yellow regardless of what you eat or drink?

Urine contains a chemical called urobilin, which is involved in the breakdown of fluid that takes place in your kidneys, says Dr. Sonstein. Urobilin is yellow, and the more of it you see in your pee, the less that biochemical is being diluted by water or other fluids you drink. If you're properly hydrated, healthy urine should actually be pretty close to clear, Dr. Sonstein explains.

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Once or twice, you've had a problem getting an erection during sex. What gives?

This is called "situational erectile dysfunction," and a ton of guys experience it, Dr. Sonstein says. "Usually it's stress- or relationship problem-related." If you're feeling a lot of pressure or anxiety, it can tense you up to the point that you have problems getting hard. Dr. Sonstein says if it gets really bad, he'll occasionally prescribe a low dose of an ED drug like Viagra to help a patient get his confidence back.

How can I make my pee longer?

Is clear pee good?