Urine smells in a child: causes of smell, symptoms of the disease and a solution to the problem

2024 Author: Priscilla Miln | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 00:21

Strong and foul-smelling urine in your baby may be a signal for urgent medical attention. The cause of such an unpleasant situation may be natural causes, for example, the introduction of new foods into the diet. However, it is best to make a diagnosis and prevent the development of a possible disease with the help of drug treatment, if necessary. For many diseases of the internal organs, an unpleasant smell in the urine of the baby is characteristic.

How baby's urine should smell

People often wonder why a child's urine smells so bad. In a he althy young child, it should be free of impurities, without a specific and pungent odor. A few months after birth, complementary foods are introduced to the baby, as a result of which a mild, unobtrusive odor appears in the urine. The urine of formula-fed babies usually has a stronger odor thanbreastfed babies.

Parents should constantly watch how urine smells in a child. This is especially important until the baby has reached a conscious age and cannot report his own he alth problems.

The smell of baby urine is a kind of indicator of the state of the child's internal organs and the functioning of the body as a whole. That is why, with any change in the color of urine or the appearance of an unpleasant odor, you should consult a doctor for advice. This will help keep the baby he althy, as well as prevent the development of an infectious disease.

Reasons for changing the smell of urine

To answer the question of why a child smells strongly of urine, you should know that in children over the age of 12, the smell of urine changes dramatically. The reason for this phenomenon lies in the change in the work of the endocrine glands. The restructuring of the hormonal background in adolescence greatly affects the vital activity of the body, including the urinary system. Also, the cause of an unpleasant odor can be physical overwork. If the odor from the urethra is similar to ammonia and acetone, then the child should be taken to a specialist in urology.

Also, a baby's urine smells strongly for some natural reason, such as infrequent diaper and diaper changes. In addition to the smell, poor hygiene can lead to more serious consequences, namely to provoke hives, skin diaper rash, dermatitis and unpleasant allergic reactions.

Factors,affecting the smell of urine

Often, parents wonder why the urine of the child began to smell of extraneous odors. The following factors can provoke this:

• Changing your baby's diet. With age, the infant is introduced to new foods, such as vegetables and fruits, which have their own specific flavors. They can greatly affect the smell of urine, making it more pronounced, sometimes even pungent.
• Dehydration. It is very important for a baby to drink enough fluids. Exhaustion of the body can occur as a result of acute poisoning with food or poisons. The body, as a result of intoxication, releases a large amount of a not always pleasant-smelling liquid.
• Lack of vitamin D. Usually such a useful element in the body is not enough if the child spends little time on the street. Sometimes this leads to the development of rickets. One of the symptoms of this disease is the pungent odor of the fluid that is excreted by the genitourinary organs. Also, a lack of vitamin D leads to a decrease in appetite, increased sweating and poor hair growth.
• Taking strong drugs and antibiotics. Antiviral drugs are partially or completely excreted through the genitourinary system, giving the urine a specific odor. After the course of drug treatment is completed, all indicators return to normal.
• Breastfeeding. In this case, the smell of urine may be due to a change in the mother's diet. White cabbage and asparagussignificantly change the smell of urine.
• Cold diseases. With rhinitis, SARS and bronchitis, urine always begins to emit an unpleasant odor. The body is exhausted as a result of the fight against infection. After complete recovery, the smell of urine disappears completely.
• Hepatitis. A sign of this serious illness is an unpleasant smell and dark color of urine.
• Diabetes. Patients with this disease usually have colorless urine. The frequency of going to the toilet increases. Urine has an ammonia or vinegar smell.
• Pyelonephritis or cystitis. With such diseases, sometimes the urine changes its smell dramatically.

Ammonia smell

Mommies often wonder why their baby smells like urine. Many doctors by smell can guess what disease a small patient suffers from. For example, if an ammonia smell is noticed, then most likely this is a pronounced sign of a violation of the urinary tract. This disease occurs as a result of improper functioning of the endocrine glands. In the blood, and then in the urine, a large number of ketone bodies are formed. Most likely, the patient suffers from diabetes mellitus or acetonemia. The characteristic symptoms of diseases are: the child's complaints of thirst, pain when urinating, dry skin and a sharp loss of body weight. If the above signs are absent, but the child’s urine is dark in color when urinating, this means that a focus of infection has appeared in the urinary system. To get rid of the disease, you need to undergo a course of treatmentantibiotics.

Smell of acetone

If a child's urine smells like acetone, this may be due to the excessive mobility of the baby. Under heavy loads, ketones are formed in the urine, which cause such an unpleasant odor. In this case, no treatment is required. To get rid of the smell, it is enough just to adjust the child's daily routine so that the baby is not overexcited during the day. Sometimes the cause of the acetone smell can be stress caused by various reasons (divorce or constant quarrels of parents, change of housing or environment in the playroom). Sometimes a child may need the help of a psychologist.

Smell of burnt sugar

If your baby's urine smells strongly of burnt sugar after urinating, it could be a sign of a disease called leucinosis (branched chain ketonuria). This disease occurs as a result of a genetic predisposition and manifests itself from the first days of a baby's life. The system responsible for the production of enzymes reduces its activity. Amino acids inside the body are not oxidized, resulting in a characteristic smell of urine. As a treatment, a rather long medication treatment is required.

Other odors and possible causes

If the urine of a child smells like fish, then this indicates a genetic disease. Not only urine can emit an odor, but also the sweat of a child, and even exhaled air.

A strong, mousey smell likely means a congenital pathology called phenylketonuria. One ofsigns of the disease is the accumulation of amino acids and metabolic products in the urinary tract. If you do not see a doctor in time, the disease can damage the nervous system.

How to detect a disease of the urinary system

Often, urine smells in a child as a result of kidney and bladder disease. One of the most common causes of pathology is inflammatory processes inside the body. Fighting pathogenic organisms, human immunity secretes white blood cells to fight the disease. Due to the fact that the immune system has not yet formed in children, the disease can continue to progress. You can understand that the child's body cannot cope with pathogenic organisms by the following symptoms:

1. Sick rarely visits the toilet.
2. Urine has a cloudy color, sometimes it mixes with blood clots. May have curd sediment.
3. Urination is accompanied by pain in the abdomen and in the lumbar region, and pain in the genitals is also felt.

What to do to avoid the smell

"Why does my baby's urine smell?" - This is one of the most common questions for new mothers. If the smell of urine in your baby has changed, has become sharp and unpleasant, then you should not be afraid and diagnose him. If the next day everything returned to normal, then the cause of this phenomenon, most likely, was overwork or a new product in his diet. If the smell persists day after day after each trip to the toilet, then you should consult a pediatrician. ATa medical facility should take a urine test to find out the content of the following substances:

• uric acid;
• ketones;
• leukocytes;
• proteins.

If a child has inflammation in the organs responsible for urination, then it is necessary to inoculate a biological sample in a nutrient medium. Then, by the number of colonies formed, the doctor can conclude that there are or are no infectious foci. Also, if a pungent odor appears in the urine, a blood test for the presence of sugar in the body is prescribed.

Disease prevention

To avoid problems with urination in a child, it is necessary to give him clean water. Sugary drinks should be completely eliminated from the diet. If a high body temperature occurs and with severe vomiting, it is recommended to drink special saline solutions, they can be found in pharmacies. Often children refuse such medicines. In this case, the child must be given a medicinal solution in a tablespoon every 20 minutes. After recovery, the smell of urine and the general condition of the body should return to normal.

As a preventive measure, doctors recommend protecting your child from emotional shocks and heavy physical exertion. In order for the child to be he althy, one should strictly adhere to the diet and drink plenty of water, especially in the heat.

How to detect and manage ketonuria

If the baby has ketonuria, experts recommend giving a drink with a small amount of sugar. It can be fruit juices or justwater with sugar. To detect this disease, you can purchase special test strips at any pharmacy, which should be soaked in the urine of a child. If the child has ketonuria, the test strip will turn red.