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.
See a GP if: you have smelly pee and: you need to pee suddenly, more often than usual, or during the night. you have pain or a burning sensation when peeing.
Everyone's urine has ammonia in it. The more hydrated you are, the less concentrated the ammonia is. But when you're dehydrated, the ammonia concentration is stronger — and so is the smell. This is why you may notice your urine smells stronger in the morning right after you wake up.
Foul-smelling urine may be due to bacteria. 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.
Pee that smells like ammonia
If you detect a hint of ammonia in your urine, it could be a sign of a urinary tract infection (UTI). The odor suggests that bacteria may be swimming around in your urinary system, most likely in your urethra, kidneys or bladder.
You're dehydrated. If you're not drinking enough water, your pee will take on a strong ammonia scent. Without enough H2O to dilute your urine, it becomes more concentrated with waste products and therefore, darker in color and more odorous. Drink more water, and the smell should go back to normal.
It's usually caused either by a UTI or an imbalance of “good” and “bad” bacteria naturally found within the body. When caused by bacteria, the bacteria will affect the urine as it sits in or passes through the bladder. This can lead to strong, sulfur-smelling urine.
Diabetes: Strong sweet-smelling urine is a sign of advanced diabetes, which can be diagnosed with urinalysis. With advanced diabetes, sugar and ketones, which are normally absent, can accumulate in the urine and create a strong odor.
Urine often has a slight ammonia smell, especially first thing in the morning or when a person is dehydrated. Smelly urine can also be a sign of an infection, however, so if the smell does not go away on its own, or if additional symptoms develop, see a doctor.
Trimethylaminuria (TMAU) is an uncommon condition that causes an unpleasant, fishy smell. It's also called "fish odour syndrome". Sometimes it's caused by faulty genes that a person inherits from their parents, but this isn't always the case. There's currently no cure, but there are things that can help.
Some medications or supplements may also be responsible for changing the urine's odor. These include sulfa drugs, which treat diabetes, rheumatoid arthritis, and other conditions, and some supplements, such as B vitamins. Drinking more water may help to dilute the sulfur compounds in the body and reduce the smell.
UTIs also come with a burning while urinating. Bladder infection: A bladder infection can cause a rotten egg-like smell. This type of infection can spread quickly to other organs, so it is important to get treatment as soon as possible. Dehydration: It may sound odd, but dehydration can cause urine smells like sulfur.
certain food and drinks, including asparagus, beer, garlic and coffee, may temporarily give urine a stronger smell. certain medicines and vitamin and mineral supplements can also alter the odour of urine – but never stop taking any medication without speaking to your GP first.
Urinary tract bacteria infections will usually make urine appear cloudy. Diabetes, a sexually transmitted infection, or kidney disease will also have this effect.
Many of the bacterial species that cause urinary tract infections can also break down urea, a natural waste product that is commonly excreted in urine. These bacteria cause urea to break down into ammonia, which imparts a strong, pungent odor to affected patients' urine.
Occasionally having urine that smells like ammonia isn't usually cause for concern. You may need to drink more water to dilute your urine. However, if your symptoms are accompanied by pain or potential signs of infection, such as a fever, then you should see a doctor.
If you have diabetes insipidus, you'll continue to pee large amounts of watery (dilute), light-colored urine when normally you'd only pee a small amount of concentrated, dark yellow urine.
Prediabetes is used to describe blood sugar levels that are higher than normal, but not high enough to be diagnosed as type 2 diabetes. For some people, noticing that urine smells sweet or fruity can be a first sign that something is different, which can lead to being diagnosed with diabetes.
Urinalysis is used to check your general health. In the past, urine glucose testing was used to screen for or monitor diabetes. But urine glucose testing is not as accurate as blood glucose testing, so blood tests are now more commonly used to diagnose and monitor diabetes.
Symptoms include sexual problems, digestive issues (a condition called gastroparesis), trouble sensing when your bladder is full, dizziness and fainting, or not knowing when your blood sugar is low.
Some people may notice they have to get up every couple of hours during the night to urinate and that they produce more urine when they do go. The presence of excess glucose can also cause the urine to have a sweet smell. This is most common in advanced cases of type 2 diabetes, he says.
For most people, the normal number of times to urinate per day is between 6 – 7 in a 24 hour period. Between 4 and 10 times a day can also be normal if that person is healthy and happy with the number of times they visit the toilet.