Contents:
- Medical Video: Why Does My Urine Have a Strong Stinky Odor?
- Is it normal for urine to smell fishy?
- What causes urine to smell abnormally fishy?
- 1. Urinary tract infections
- 2. Bacterial Vaginosis
- 3. Fish odor syndrome
- 4. Kidney problems
- 5. Prostatitis
- 6. Heart failure
- When should I see a doctor if urine smells fishy?
Medical Video: Why Does My Urine Have a Strong Stinky Odor?
Normally, urine is pale yellow and does not smell. However, the color and smell of urine can change depending on what you eat or drink before. That may be why when urine smells fishy, you think that you already eat a lot of fish or other seafood. In fact, fishy urine can indicate a serious health problem that needs to be checked by a doctor.
Is it normal for urine to smell fishy?
Judging from the composition, urine or urine consists of water and waste substances that are no longer used by the body. These substances can come from:
- Remaining digestion of food and beverages
- Toxins or allergens in the body
- Hormones or chemicals in the body
- The remaining medicines are taken
Normal and healthy urine is generally pale yellow and does not smell pungent. But in some cases, your urine can smell fishy for a number of reasons. One of them is because most eat fish or a source of protein from the sea and beans. These foods produce trimethylamine (TMA), which is a chemical that triggers fishy odor.
Even so, a healthy body will actually produce a special enzyme to break down TMA so that your urine smells remain normal after eating fish. Even if it smells fishy, the smell will disappear after a few hours by drinking lots of water.
If urine continues to smell fishy for days, this is certainly not normal even though it does not always endanger health. On the other hand, urine smells fishy can be a sign of serious health problems, such as damage to the kidneys or liver.
What causes urine to smell abnormally fishy?
Urine smells fishy can be a warning of health problems, especially if it continues to occur for a long time. The various causes of fishy smelling urine are as follows:
1. Urinary tract infections
Urinary tract infection is a bacterial infection that attacks the urinary tract area in the body. Because of the large number of bacteria in the urinary tract, this can lead to pain when urinating and affect your urine odor.
If you like anyang-anyangan aka frequent urination and accompanied by pain, you might get this one infection. Especially if you find blood spots in the urine. You should go to the doctor to check your health. If not treated immediately, this disease can spread to the kidneys and other organs.
2. Bacterial Vaginosis
Bacterial vaginosis is a bacterial infection that attacks the vagina. The main characteristic of this disease is the grayish-smelling white discharge. Urine can also smell fishy if you are infected with bacterial vaginosis.
Unfortunately, some women with bacterial vaginosis tend not to feel any symptoms and are often ignored. Even if there are symptoms, the symptoms may be pain during intercourse or urination and a burning sensation in or around the vagina.
If you experience this condition, immediately consult a doctor to get the right treatment.
3. Fish odor syndrome
Have you heard of fish smell syndrome? The syndrome in medical language called trimethylaminuria is characterized by a pungent odor like the smell of rotten fish, both in saliva, breath, sweat, or urine.
Fish odor syndrome occurs when enzymes in the body are unable to break down trimethylamine (TMA), which is a chemical in food that triggers a fishy odor. When the body fails to break down and change these chemicals, trimethylamine will continue to accumulate and cause changes in the smell of sweat, breath, saliva, and urine so that it smells fishy. The more trimethylamine deposits in the body, the worse the fishy odor it causes.
4. Kidney problems
The kidneys function to filter urine so that toxic substances in the body can be released immediately. If urine smells unpleasant, then it is likely that your kidney is not functioning properly or has an infection.
In addition to smelling urine, the symptoms of kidney infection can be:
- Difficulty urinating or pain when urinating.
- Lower back pain.
- High fever.
- Bloody urine.
- Urinary tract infections get worse.
Kidney infections can generally be treated by taking antibiotics recommended by doctors. But if there are no changes, immediately consult a doctor to get further treatment.
5. Prostatitis
Prostatitis is an acute inflammation that occurs in the prostate gland. This condition is usually caused by a bacterial infection which then makes urine smell fishy.
Symptoms of prostatitis are actually similar to urinary tract infections. However, patients with prostatitis also experience other additional symptoms such as:
- Pain in the anus, scrotum and perineum.
- Lower back pain.
- The body shivered and felt pain.
- Burning sensation when urinating.
- Bloody urine.
- White deposits in urine.
This disease can generally be treated by taking antibiotics and painkillers according to the doctor's recommendations. Also, try taking a warm bath to help relieve pain from prostatitis.
6. Heart failure
Just like the kidneys, the liver also helps the body to filter toxins and transfer them to urine. If the liver does not function optimally, the body releases more bilirubin into the blood.
Bilirubin is the result of the breakdown of red blood cells that must be removed and excreted by the body through feces. When too much bilirubin in the blood, this substance can mix with urine and trigger unpleasant odors.
Apart from causing unpleasant urine odor, symptoms of liver failure can be nausea, vomiting, yellowing of the skin, nails and eyes appear yellow, diarrhea, and swelling in the ankles.
When should I see a doctor if urine smells fishy?
Actually, the condition of urine that smells fishy does not always indicate a serious health problem if it is not accompanied by other symptoms. Because, this could be because you are dehydrated or affected by your diet lately. For example, most eat fish, eggs, beans, and other protein sources.
However, if the urine continues to smell fishy for a long time, then immediately consult a doctor to determine the cause. If you feel symptoms of severe pain during urination, nausea, vomiting, fever and back pain, you may experience a kidney infection that needs to be treated immediately.
