Why Does My Urine Smell?

If you are dehydrated, your urine has the tendency to smell much stronger than usual. This is due to decreased water levels that make the filtered waste in your urine more predominant.

What you eat and drink can impact the way your urine smells. Certain foods such as asparagus can make your urine have a sulfur-like smell, while drinks such as coffee can leave a distinctive coffee smell when you urinate. Fish, onions, brussels sprouts and garlic are other foods that can leave a very distinctive smell in your urine.

Vitamin B and vitamin D have been known to leave a fishy smell in urine. While medications such as sulfonamide antibiotics (commonly used to treat UTIs as well as other fungal and bacterial infections), diabetes medications and rheumatoid arthritis medications, all of which fall into the sulfa drug group (medicines used to treat bacterial infections), can cause urine to have a foul-smelling odor.

A major life change that can lead to strong urine odor in females is pregnancy. It’s very common for pregnant women to begin noticing a change in the way their urine smells. This is typically due to hormone changes that result in having a heightened sense of smell. Other key factors could be dehydration or prenatal vitamins, which can lead to smelly urine.

Women who are going through menopause may notice changing urine smell. This is typically due to hormonal changes, such as a decrease in estrogen, impacting overall vaginal health.

Yeast infections, STIs, diabetes, UTIs and kidney stones can change the way your urine smells. If you suspect you are experiencing one of these conditions, it’s important to talk with your doctor to seek the right treatment plan.

As people age, their urine may smell different. This change is largely due to either dehydration or chronic health issues, to which the elderly can be more susceptible.

Urine that smells like ammonia can be a sign of an illness such as UTIs, kidney stones, menopause, or liver disease.

Antibiotics can make your urine smell a bit off as they are secreted from your body through your urine. Penicillin, for instance, is derived from mold and can make your urine have a fungal and yeast smell as your body releases the medication.

Sweet smelling urine can be a sign of diabetes and can indicate high blood sugar levels.

A sweet or yeasty smelling odor coming from your urine could indicate an overgrowth of yeast, leading to a yeast infection.

This is typically a sign of a UTI or kidney stones.

Fava beans, rhubarb or aloe could be the culprit of dark brown urine. It could also be a sign of a liver or kidney disorder as well as several different medications.

If you’ve recently consumed brightly colored food dyes, there’s a chance you have green urine. Medications and different illnesses are also contributing factors for these urine colors.

If you aren’t staying hydrated, dehydration could cause your urine to be orange. Medical conditions such as liver issues and chemotherapy drugs or medications for urinary pain can also all lead to orange urine.

Beets, blackberries and rhubarb can turn urine red or pink. It could also be a sign of blood in the urine which could indicate a UTI, kidney stones, or bladder cancer among other health issues.