Why is my urine so strong smelling
9 Causes of Smelly Urine | How to Fix Urine Odor | #DeepDives
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have you ever sat down on the toilet to
relieve yourself and thought
ew what's that smell you might have
thought it was the faint yet unpleasant
odor of the bathroom
only to realize it was actually the
smell of your own urine
typically urine has a pretty mild odor
but there are multiple things that can
make it smell stronger than usual
most of these things are harmless but in
some cases smelly urine can actually be
an indicator that something more
serious is going on here are 9 causes of
smelly urine and what you can do to fix
it
cause number one dehydration not
drinking enough water
is the top cause of smelly urine to
break it down
urine is a combination of water and
waste products there's more waste
products than water in it
which can lead to that unpleasant odor
the color of your urine can determine
whether or not you're hydrated
if it's amber honey colored or even a
dark orange
you probably need to up your water
intake but if it's a pale
or transparent yellow color then that's
a good sign you're well hydrated
meaning your urine might be smelly for
another reason
cause number two eating certain foods we
all know asparagus is infamous for
making our pea smell bad but if it
doesn't give it a funky odor that's also
normal
sonia duda a urogynecologist explains
so when our bodies digest asparagus they
actually
create a really pungent compound called
acid in this compound this metabolite is
actually
really really high in sulfur which can
really make a strange odor
to the urine they think that up to 50
percent of people
probably have this strange urine spell
after eating asparagus but there are two
theories
with regard to why a person can have the
smelly urine
one side of the argument is that some
people
make the enzyme to break down asparagus
while others don't
so the people that don't have that
enzyme they're not going to have the
smelly urine the other theory
is that it's in our noses so some people
have the ability to smell that kind of
pungent odor while others don't
so urine is like this byproduct of our
body right it's
our it's one of the ways that we get rid
of things that we don't need
so urine in general actually has a smell
to it and that's because of the ammonia
content
so say you're dehydrated there's going
to be a higher amount of ammonia so
that's going to make you feel like you
have a smell to your urine
foods that are high in vitamin b6
can actually make you have a weird smell
so that's like salmon
turkey chicken can do it even onion
garlic they actually have a byproduct
that we digest
that can give you to have make you have
a funky smell people even think broccoli
so
those green leafy vegetables that they
have a
chemical that breaks down that can make
you have a weird bitter odor to your
urine too
if you're not fond of the odor drinking
plenty of water when eating these kinds
of foods
will help dilute your urine to reduce
the stench cause number three
drinking coffee sorry to break this to
coffee lovers but your daily cup of joe
could be the reason your urine stinks
coffee metabolites
or the byproducts from coffee when
broken down in your body can make urine
smell
coffee is diuretic meaning it makes you
pee a lot
flushing extra fluid and sodium from
your body diuretics can also cause
dehydration
so in addition to the smell from those
coffee metabolites your urine might have
a stench because it's more concentrated
than usual
however this isn't the case for everyone
if you've never noticed an odor after
your morning brew then you're probably
in the clear
cause number four urinary tract
infections
a uti occurs when bacteria gets into the
urinary system
through the urethra bacteria can
certainly make your pee smell bad
but if you have a uti chances are you'll
have more than just smelly urine
symptoms include having to go to the
bathroom more frequently feeling a
burning sensation when peeing
and your urine looking cloudy or even
bloody if you have a uti
talk to your doctor and treat it asap
cause number five
yeast infections it might sound gross
but yeast are microorganisms that
naturally live on various parts of our
bodies
if yeast grow out of control they can
trigger an infection
yeast infections can happen anywhere on
the body including the mouth
lips and genitals so yeast infections
in women are due to a fungus typically
it's called canada albicans however
there's a lot of different forms of
canada that can
cause um yeast infections the urine
smell that's associated with
a yeast infection isn't the urine it's
actually the urine mixing with
the discharge in your vagina because
everything is in such
close proximity right the the urethral
the opening is right at the top of the
vagina so inevitably some of that
discharge is going to mix with the urine
and then make you have a spell
cause number six sexually transmitted
infections
stis like chlamydia trichomoniasis and
gonorrhea
commonly cause inflammation of the
urethra also known as urethritis
so urethritis is actually the medical
term for
inflammation in your urethra so the
urethra is the tube that carries urine
from your bladder
um to the outside world so some
sexually transmitted infections can
actually cause
a urethritis an inflammation in the
urethra
and if that's there if your urethra is
inflamed the urine as it passed through
passes through it's gonna cause the
smell
either way see your doctor as soon as
possible if you think you have an sti
and they'll help determine how to
properly treat it
cause number seven kidney stones anyone
who's had kidney stones
knows how painful they can be kidney
stones develop when salt and other
minerals found in urine stick together
and form into stone-like deposits the
size of these deposits can be as small
as grains of sand
or even as large as full chunks of
gravel
yikes the stones can collect bacteria
which can then lead to infection and
sometimes bleeding
changing the smell of urine other
symptoms can include
back side or groin pain nausea
vomiting blood urine frequent urination
pain while urinating or even a fever
stones usually pass in urine without any
need for treatment but seeking medical
attention is a must if you have severe
pain or show signs of an infection
cause number eight diabetes believe it
or not diabetes can also make pee smell
that's because of all of the sugar
spilling out into the urine
diabetics can't process sugar the same
way most people can
meaning there's extra glucose in their
blood their bodies try to get rid of all
that excess sugar in urine which can
give it a sweet or fruity smell
people who have undiagnosed or
uncontrolled diabetes
will also have an increased urge and
frequency to pee sugar irritates the
bladder
cause number nine vitamins if you're
someone who takes vitamins
there's no need to fear just like how
different foods make urine smell
vitamins can do the same thing your body
gets rid of the nutrients you don't need
through peeing
vitamins tend to give you extra of what
your body really needs
so you'll often end up peeing some of
that out the bottom line
don't panic if your pee smells bad
smelly urine alone
isn't typically a cause for major
concern and that won't be the only
indicator that something more serious is
going on that might need medical
attention