If the bad smell of your urine has worried you, in majority of cases it is not a sign of serious condition in your body but it may be the first sign of some diseases like dehydration, liver and kidney problems, pancreatitis, poisoning with some drugs or elements, infection, etc.
In the following you will read more about smelly urine and other symptoms that may be associated with it.
Normally, if you have a normal diet and your body water volume is normal, your urine will smell mild, and eating certain foods and beverages such as asparagus or coffee can change the smell of your urine to some extent.
It is important to know that if your urine has an undesirable odor and you are not dehydrated, this bad smell of urine may be a sign of an internal problem.
What you will read next:
Types of bad urine odors
Types of bad smelling urine include:
- The smell of ammonia
- Sweet smell (overly sweet) (sugary smell)
- Foul smell
- Sulfurous smell
- Musty smell
- Bloody smell
A person may experience bad smell continuously or occasionally. Persistent bad smell that lasts for several days can be due to an infection and bad smell of urine that persists for weeks and months can be due to liver problems, diabetes, etc. (untreated).
Not in all cases, but frequently pain and burning sensation accompanied bad smell when urinary tract infection is presented.
It is not possible to diagnose the exact cause of foul-smelling urine solely based on type of the odor, but there are some clues to guess the most probable cause.
For example, when someone senses sweet smell when urinates, it may be sign of diabetic mellitus of poor controlled diabetes.
Smell of ammonia may be happened when there is some congenital problem in some liver enzymes.
Urinary tract stones may cause bloody smell urine.
Who is most likely to have a bad urine odor?
The following groups are more prone to this complication
- People who eat a lot of spices
- Women who have a lot of sex
- Old women
- People with liver failure
- People with uncontrolled diabetes
- Dehydrated people
- Pancreatitis
- Poisoned by some drugs of rotten foods
- Some medication
- Urinary tract stones
- Some congenital disease
Later in this article we will discuss in detail some of these conditions.
How important and serious is foul smelling?
There are conditions that affect the importance of “foul smelling “, including:
- Not so serious cases:
Most cases of painless urine odor will be due to the following causes:
- Dehydrated
- Consumption of prawn foods, drinking coffee
- Taking medicines containing vitamin B6
- And newly started drugs
In these cases, in the absence of pain and other symptoms, there is no serious issue to consider.
- Items of moderate importance:
If you have bad smell of urine with one or more of the following, you need to see a doctor and get treatment:
- Unusual color of urine
- Bad smell of prolonged urination
- If your urine odor is accompanied by abnormal urine color, you will need further investigation.
If you have pain with bad smell, or if you have fatigue and nausea with painless bad smell, do not miss the time to see a doctor.
Causes of smelly urine without pain
- Dehydration
The following can cause dehydration:
- If you do not drink enough water, your urine will be turbid, concentrated and with a pungent odor.
- Diuretics, which increase the volume of your urine, can dehydrate your body
- Dehydration can be due to the fact that you drink a lot of alcohol
- Excessive sweating, for example, following exercise in hot weather, etc. can be one of the causes of dehydration in your body
- Try to drink eight glasses of water during the day, do not include tea, coffee and alcohol.
- foods
- Spices, garlic, onions, peppers, eggs have a high sulfur content that can give your urine a foul odor.
- Asparagus also is high in sulfur content and will give your urine a pungent odor, which does not cause pain.
- Some supplements that are used in body buildings, are high in protein and creatinine and can cause bad odor urine.
- Medications
People who take vitamin B6 or pyridoxine in doses above 10 mg per day may have foul-smelling painless urine.
Almost every medication you take, will excrete to some extent through urination. This excretion will cause urine to smell differently from normal. Depends on what medication you take, this odor may differ from sweety to foul smell.
- Diabetes
People with diabetes will have a strong sweet-smelling urine that will be painless if they do not have urinary tract infections.
- Liver Injuries and Diseases
The excretion of toxins from the body in the urine, which are not cleared due to liver disorders, will cause a musty smell in the urine of patients.
Because our body make lots of metabolic waste with different chemical characteristics, excretion of these elements may cause different type of odor in the urine.
- Urinary tract stones
Urinary tract stones can cause bloody urine and bloody smell. Not all stones cause gross bloody urine. In most of the cases the blood is microscopic and not seen easily.
Although infection will cause lots of symptoms beside foul-smelling odor, but the later can be the only sign of urinary tract infection.
When to see a doctor
- If the smell of your urine is accompanied by back pain.
- If the bad smell of your urine are associated with progressive fatigue and yellowish skin.
- If your urine has bad smell and is painless but associated with swollen joints.
- If your urine has bad smell and is painless but accompanied by thirst or weight loss.
- If your urine has bad smell and is accompanied by pain in your lower abdomen.
- If the bad smell of your urine is painless but you have frequent urination.
In cases where your smelly and painless urine is not accompanied by any of the above symptoms, you can use the following solutions at home
- Drink plenty of water
- Drink green tea (consult a doctor)
- Use cranberries and vitamin C at home if approved by your doctor
The final words
- Urinary tract infections, which include the kidneys, bladder, and urethra, are often caused by fecal bacteria species.
- Stinky urine in urinary tract infections is accompanied by discoloration, burning, and pain.
- If your urine smells bad and you feel pain with it, be sure to see a doctor for further examinations. Also, if you are pregnant and have discoloration of the urine, it is better to talk to your doctor.