As excess trimethylamine is released in a person's sweat, urine, and breath, it causes the odor characteristic of trimethylaminuria. Researchers believe that stress and diet also play a role in triggering symptoms.
Certain foods emit a smell similar to cat urine when they decompose, including fish, garlic, lima beans, asparagus, and broccoli. If spoiled food is the source of cat pee smell in your home, make an extra effort to use or dispose of foods before they spoil and add an odor-absorbing box of baking soda in the fridge.
Multiple things can cause your house to smell like cat urine, even if you don't have a cat. Investigate if there is mold, leaking Freon, sewer gases, smelly plants, spoiled food, or even stains from previous pet owners.
What Causes Ammonia Smell in Sweat? Urea is produced when your body breaks down proteins. When your body produces urea faster than your kidneys can excrete it, some of that urea is leached out into your sweat where it breaks down into ammonia. This produces a distinctive and unpleasant ammonia sweat smell.
Did you realize that using an antiperspirant can prevent you from releasing excess ammonia from your body? A build-up of ammonia can cause your sweat to smell like cat pee and have detrimental effects on your health.
When the excess urea in your body reacts with saliva, it forms ammonia–which you then exhale through your breath. If you have CKD, this is what gives your breath that ammonia scent. The medical name for this is “uremic fetor”.
Protein breaks down into amino acids, which the body converts into ammonia. The body then releases this ammonia through urine and sweat, which may produce an odor. Dehydration can also make the sweat smell like ammonia. This is because the body needs water to get rid of ammonia through sweat.
“If you're smelling ammonia in sweat, something's wrong,” Maharam says. Both he and Roberts agree you need to add more carbohydrates to your diet. “Whole fruits, potatoes, rice, pasta and breads are all traditional carb sources that should help correct the problem,” Roberts says.
Some foods and medications, such as asparagus or certain vitamins, can cause a noticeable urine odor, even in low concentrations. Sometimes, unusual urine odor indicates a medical condition or disease, such as: Cystitis (bladder inflammation) Dehydration.
Cleaning the area thoroughly with vinegar first and then applying an enzyme treatment will break down and evaporate the uric acid and your home will be free of cat odors. Vinegar and enzyme cleaners work on all surfaces: hardwood floors, carpets, mattresses.
Neutralize it!
Then you're going to want to douse the spot with an enzymatic cleaner or simply make your own cleaning solution by combining (white or apple cider) vinegar and water in a 1:1 ratio. Because the vinegar is acidic, it will neutralize the bacteria in the cat pee, offsetting its odor.
Enzymes break down felinine, producing ammonia, carbon dioxide, and a compound called 3-methyl-3-sulfanylbutan-1-ol (MMB). Ammonia is known for having a pungent odour, but the sulfur-containing MMB is a big contributor to the characteristic cat urine smell.
Sweet-smelling urine may be a sign of uncontrolled diabetes or a rare disease of metabolism. Liver disease and certain metabolic disorders may cause musty-smelling urine.
Common causes of smelly pee
certain types of food and drink, like asparagus or coffee. not drinking enough fluids. some medicines. vitamin B6 supplements.
Urinary tract infection (UTI)
A UTI can cause bacteria from the infection to contaminate the urine, resulting in a distinct fishy smell. UTIs are more common in women than men. Other symptoms include: urine that is cloudy or bloody.
If ammonia cannot be smelled, it is probably not concentrated enough to be harmful. If you can smell ammonia, health effects are possible. If strong ammonia odors are present in your home or environment, and if eye, nose, or throat irritation is occurring, leave the area and call the fire department.
While sweat from both types of glands is odorless, sweat from apocrine glands is more likely to smell when it comes into contact with bacteria on your skin. In addition to all those apocrine glands, your groin contains lots of bacteria, making it a perfect environment for odors, including those that smell like ammonia.
It's a condition where otherwise normal smells now smell and taste unpleasant or even disgusting. For example, to someone with parosmia, coffee or fruit smells like garbage, rotten meat, eggs, or ammonia.
Trimethylaminuria is a disorder in which the body is unable to break down trimethylamine, a chemical compound that has a pungent odor. Trimethylamine has been described as smelling like rotten or decaying fish.
Trimethylaminuria does not cause any other physical health problems, and people with the condition are usually in good health otherwise. It is important that people seek help from a healthcare professional if trimethylaminuria causes social isolation, depression, anxiety, or any other psychological issues.
Do people with trimethylaminuria smell themselves? Yes, just like typical body odor or sweat, people with TMAU may notice how they smell. But like typical body odor or sweat, some people with TMAU may be accustomed to the smell and less likely to react to it than those around them.
In the case of liver or kidney disease, your odor may give off a bleach-like smell due to toxin buildup in your body.
Which STD Causes Foul Smelling Urine? Chlamydia is a known sexually transmitted disease that can cause your urine to smell funky. It can be easily cured, but often difficult to detect. This is because its symptoms can be disregarded or misdiagnosed as a side effect of other ailments.
Mold, especially black mold, produces a smell that very closely resembles cat pee. If you find black mold in your home, seek out a professional remediation service, as black mold can be very dangerous.