Dr Rosemary Leonard

GETTING TO THE HEART OF MEDICAL MATTERS

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I look after my two-year-old granddaughter a couple of days a week, and have noticed recently that occasionally her urine looks pinky red on her nappies. I thought she might have a urine infection, but the test her GP arranged was clear. So why is this happening? My daughter (her mother) says it has never happened with her.

Red or pink coloured urine can be due to an infection, but this would tend to be persistent and cause other symptoms, such as pain on passing urine, passing urine more frequently, and also being generally unwell. Occasional pink coloured urine, especially in a child who is well, is far more likely to be due to food, and I suspect you a giving your granddaughter something different to the food she eats at home.

At this time of year, blackberries are often to blame, but beetroot, broadbeans and rhubarb can also give urine a pink or red colour. If it happens a few hours after eating these, though it can look a bit alarming, if the urine colour gradually returns back to pale yellow, then it is nothing to worry about.

Though it doesn't apply to your granddaughter, some medicines, such as Senna or rifampicin (used to treat TB) can also do the same thing.

I'm an active 81-year-old, but the skin on my legs is very thin and I only have to knock myself slightly on anything, even a cardboard box, and the skin can peel off and bleed, then I get a big bruise. I have varicose veins around my knees so my legs look awful. Is there anything I can do to improve the condition of my skin?