Urine facts for kids
Urine is a liquid made by your body in your kidneys. It's like your body's way of taking out the trash! This liquid is stored in your bladder, which is like a small balloon. When it's full, the urine leaves your body through a tube called the urethra. This tube opens at the tip of the penis for boys and men or near the vulva for girls and women.
When you pee, your body gets rid of things it doesn't need or want from your blood. Think of your blood as a delivery system that carries good stuff around your body. But as it delivers, it also picks up waste. Your liver and kidneys are like amazing filters. The liver cleans out many harmful substances (called toxins) and adds good things back. Then, your kidneys remove extra stuff like urea and salts, putting them into the urine. After this cleaning process, your blood is just right for your body to use again!
Urine is mostly water. It also has tiny amounts of mineral salts and about 2% urea. Urea is made in your liver to get rid of something called ammonia, which can be very harmful. Urea itself isn't very harmful unless there's too much of it in your blood for a long time.
The color of urine can change. It usually ranges from almost clear to yellow. The yellow color comes from something called urobilins. These are made when your body breaks down hemoglobin, which is the stuff that makes your blood red. If you don't drink enough water, your urine will be darker yellow and more concentrated. This means your body is trying to save water. If you drink a lot of water, your urine will be lighter and you'll make more of it.
What Does Urine Remove?
Urine helps your body get rid of several things it doesn't need:
- Extra water
- Extra salts (also called electrolytes)
- Urea (a waste product from breaking down proteins)
- Some Drugs
- Some toxins (harmful substances)
How Urine Travels
Urine is made in your kidneys. From there, it travels down two tubes called ureters (one from each kidney) into your bladder. The bladder holds the urine until it's time to go to the bathroom. Then, the urine leaves your body through the urethra.
