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Odor of Urine
بقول ابن سینا: رائحتہ البول
According to the Modern Medicine
“Urine left at room temperature for more than 2 hours tends to develop an ammonia odor beca-use bacteria converts urea into ammonia. If an ammonia odor is noted in a freshly voided speci-men, this probably indicates that bacteria are active in the bladder, converting urea into ammo-nia. Some medications and metabolic disorders also produce a strong or distinctive urine odor.”
Sulfur-smelling urine or like rotten eggs: “It is due to methyl mercaptan, cystine decomposition and can be caused by the asparagus, garlic, onions, Brussel’s sprouts, hazelnuts or cheese.”
Ammonia-smelling urine: “It indicates the presence of bacteria producing urease, an enzyme catalyzing the decomposition of urea into the ammonia and water. It can also be due to the high-protein diet, citrus fruit, old urine sample, UTIs or diseases with chronic urine retention (as BPH).”
Medicinal odor: “It can be due to vitamin B6 supplements and foods high in vitamin B6, such as fortified cereals or beverages or salmon fish.”
Sweet-smelling urine: “It can appear after eating fenugreek or puffed wheat, on low-carb diet or fasting (due to ketones). Sweet-smelling urine (like fruits or acetone) which is transparent or pale yellow can occur in individuals with high urine ketone levels (ketonuria) due to starving, poorly controlled diabetes mellitus or after taking isoniazid (a drug for tuberculosis).”
Foul-smelling or fishy-smelling (and cloudy) urine occurs in urinary tract infection or prostatitis.
Common Causes of Urine Odor according to the Contemporary Medicine
Rancid: Tyrosinemia
Fishy: E-Coli Infection
Bleach: Contamination
Mousy: Phenylketonuria
Fecal: Bladder intestinal fistula
Pungent: Urinary tract infection
Foul: Bacterial decomposition, UTIs
Cabbage: Methionine malabsorption
Alcohol: Intoxication due to Ethanol
Maple syrup: Maple syrup urine disease (leucinosis)
Fruity: Diabetes Mellitus, Ketones, Starvation or Vomiting
Musty or Mousy: In phenylketonuria or liver diseases or Hepatic Encephalopathy
Acetone (overripe apples): Excretion of acetone in ketoacidosis as in diabetes or starvation.
Suggested Readings
- Rushd I. Kitab-ul-Kulliyat, Maktaba Daniyal, Urdu Bazaar, Lahore, Pakistan, and, 2017, 173-175.
- Majoosi. Kamil-us-Sanaa, Urdu Translation by Hakeem Ghulam Hussain Kantoori, Idara Kitabul Shifa, New Delhi, and, 2010, 387-391. 6.
- Dehn, W. M., & Hartman, F. A. (1914). Urinod, the cause of the characteristic odor of urine. Journal of the American Chemical Society, 36(10), 2136-2146.
- Smith’s Urology.
- Campbell – Walsh Urology.
- Avicenna’s Canon of medicine by O. C. Gruner.
Tag:Urology in Canon