Pure yellow and foul-smelling urine usually lasts only a few days and goes away on its own. However, if it combines with other symptoms such as painful urination, frequent urination, dysuria, long-lasting bad smell, etc... you should see a doctor because they could be signs of a urinary tract infection.
1. Rule out pathological causes of yellow and odorous urine
You should rule out the following causes before suspecting that smelly and yellow urine is related to a medical condition:
Drink less water: Drinking less water makes urine concentrated. The less water you drink, the stronger your urine will smell and the darker will be.
Drugs: Some vitamins and drugs when taken into the body will change the color and smell of urine. For example, vitamin B2 makes urine bright yellow, some sedative medications turn urine red, pain reducers turn urine orange, blood pressure medications turn urine black, etc.
Food: Eating too many foods rich in protein, spicy foods with strong smells such as ginger, garlic make urine dark yellow and discomfort smell.
2. 2. When is smelly and yellow urine associated with disease?
If the above causes are not present, you can think of smelly and yellow urine as a sign of disease. Smelly urine is usually caused by bacteria and fungi that live in the urinary tract. Therefore, smelly and yellow urine is highly likely associated to urinary tract infection.
To suspect a urinary tract infection, in addition to yellow and smelly urine, the patient also has symptoms such as painful urination, nocturia, pain in the lower abdomen, ... Bacteria develop more and more. The more obvious the inflammation is, the more the patient must go to the doctor. Some diseases are caused by typical urinary tract infections such as gonorrhea and chlamydia, urethritis, cystitis, pyelonephritis,...
3. Treatment of urinary tract infections
To know exactly the level of infection, you need to go to a medical center for examination and treatment.
About examination: During the examination, you may be asked about your symptoms, medical history, medications you are taking, etc. To know exactly the cause of the disease and the progress of the disease. During the progression of the disease, the doctor will order some tests such as urinalysis, kidney function tests, bladder ultrasound, urine culture, ...
About treatment: Urinary tract infection is a treatable disease. Depending on the level of inflammation, the doctor will prescribe an appropriate antibiotic to inhibit the growth of pathogenic bacteria. It is important that you must follow the treatment time, you should not stop drinking medications because the symptoms have reduced. You need to take a full dose to completely stop the disease and limit the risk of recurrence.
4. Urine is dark yellow, has a bad smell and is related to sex
In women, when there is a change in the characteristics of urine, you often think that the cause is due to sex. However, unlike men, the urinary tract and genital tract in women are different. Therefore, a change in the color or smell of urine is usually not related to sex. Unless your male partner has genital tract inflammation, it is likely that after sex, the semen flowing out of the vulva combined with the urine, causing a discomforting smell. If not, the problem lies with you, there is a high ability that you have a urinary tract infection when accompanied by symptoms such as painful urination, frequent urination, a very unpleasant smell,...
Although your urine has a bad smell if you don't have symptoms of frequent urination or painful urination, you don't need to worry too much, but if you see any of these symptoms, you should go to a medical center for examination, and advice by the expert doctors to find the cause of the disease.
To protect your health as well as detect urological diseases early, customers can choose either the Urology Screening Package - Stones or the Urology Examination and Screening Package of Vinmec International General Hospital. The examination package helps to detect kidney problems at the earliest through urine tests and modern imaging methods. This package is suitable for all ages, genders and is especially necessary for people with risk factors for urinary kidney disease.
Please dial HOTLINE for more information or register for an appointment HERE. Download MyVinmec app to make appointments faster and to manage your bookings easily.
