Have you ever caught a whiff of something funky when you peed and thought “Huh, my urine smells like chicken broth!”? It may seem strange, but your pee can take on some unusual aromas which typically stem from foods, medications or an underlying health issue.
While subtle urine scent variations are usually harmless, a strong foul odor can signal a problem needing medical attention. Read on to learn why your urine smells like a chicken coop and when it warrants seeing a doctor.
Normal Pee Smells
Healthy urine has a mild slightly bitter aroma that is fairly faint. Certain foods like asparagus and beets can cause temporary odor changes after you go number one. Taking B vitamins may also impart a harmless scent shift.
So what constitutes a normal pee smell? Some key qualities include:
- Nutty, bitter or musky aroma
- Fairly faint, not overpowering
- Consistent scent for you
If your urine smells strongly abnormal or strange, especially a potent chicken broth stench, an underlying cause likely needs investigation.
7 Reasons Why Your Pee Smells Like Chicken
A variety of factors can make your pee take on a chicken broth aroma. Here are 7 possible causes:
1. Dehydration
When you don’t drink enough fluids, your urine becomes highly concentrated. This results in a strong, pungent broth-like smell.
The more dehydrated you become, the less diluted your pee is. With a lower water content, waste materials that emit odor are more noticeable.
2. Certain Foods
Eating sizable amounts of onions, garlic, meat, spices or salt can impart a meaty, chicken broth aroma to your urine. These foods contain sulfur compounds that get excreted through your kidneys.
Other culprits include asparagus, Brussels sprouts, salmon and curry dishes. Their smelly sulfur byproducts pass into your pee.
3. Maple Syrup Urine Disease
This rare inherited disorder causes a buildup of certain amino acids in your blood due to an enzyme deficiency. It makes your pee smell like chicken broth or maple syrup.
Babies with this condition may seem lethargic, feed poorly, vomit and have seizures. Prompt treatment is needed to prevent brain damage.
4. Urinary Tract Infection (UTI)
A UTI occurs when bacteria multiply in your bladder, urethra or kidneys. It produces foul urine smells, including a stewed odor, from a buildup of germs.
Other UTI signs are a frequent urge to pee, pain or burning during urination and fever or chills.
5. Kidney Dysfunction
Impaired kidney filtering allows urea, ammonia and other wastes to accumulate in your blood, emitting a potent brothy aroma in your urine.
An ammonia smell, needing to pee less often and swelling are key red flags. Chronic kidney disease requires prompt treatment.
6. Diabetes
Uncontrolled diabetes allows excess glucose to spill into your urine, causing increased urination and a sweet, syrupy smell that may resemble chicken broth.
See a doctor when your pee consistently smells sweet or fruity, as this indicates dangerously high blood sugar.
7. Certain Medications
Some supplements and meds contain sulfur compounds that can impart odd urine scents resembling chicken broth. Vitamin B6, sulfa antibiotics for UTIs and the diabetes drug glipizide are a few examples.
When Foul Urine Smells Need Evaluation
While diet and medication causes of chicken pee are harmless, other underlying reasons warrant seeing a doctor promptly. Make an appointment if your broth-scented urine occurs alongside:
- Burning or pain when you pee
- Need to urinate frequently or suddenly
- Nausea, vomiting, fever or confusion
- Visible blood or cloudiness in your urine
- Swollen legs, feet or ankles signaling fluid retention
These accompanying symptoms indicate potential urinary tract infections, kidney issues, diabetes complications or maple syrup urine disease needing treatment. Don’t hesitate to get evaluated when your pee smells foul.
What the Color Tells You
Along with analyzing smells, urine color offers insight into your health. Be on the lookout for these abnormal hues if your pee also smells like chicken broth:
Orange – Can result from carotene-rich foods, medications, liver disease or rhabdomyolysis muscle injury.
Blue-green – Caused by food dyes, medications, urinary tract blockages or bacterial buildup.
Dark brown – Signals severe dehydration, liver disease or certain medications.
Pink to red – Indicates blood in your urine, pointing to infections, kidney stones or cancer.
Whenever you observe strange urine colors and scents, it’s wise to get checked by your doctor. Testing can determine if an infection, kidney problem or other issue needs treatment.
Prevent Dehydration for Healthy Pee
Sometimes optimizing your fluid intake is all it takes to get your pee smelling normal again. Strive to drink enough water so your urine is lightly yellow.
Aim for these daily amounts of fluids:
- Women: Around 11 cups
- Men: About 15 cups
- Increase intake with exercise, hot weather or illness causing fluid loss
Drinking more liquids dilutes your urine concentration and prevents those unpleasant chicken aromas. But if the stench persists despite hydrating well, promptly call your doctor.
When to See a Doctor About Your Pee
While subtle transient urine odor shifts are not concerning, strong bothersome smells or those accompanied by other symptoms do warrant medical evaluation.
See your doctor right away if your urine smells like chicken broth and you have:
- Pain or burning when peeing
- Needing to urinate frequently
- Vomiting, fever or confusion
- Visible blood or cloudiness
- Swollen legs and feet
These red flags indicate potential urinary tract infections, sexually transmitted infections, kidney dysfunction, diabetes and other issues requiring prompt diagnosis and treatment.
Don’t ignore stubborn foul aromatic pee, as an underlying condition needs to be identified. Catching problems early prevents complications. Discuss any concerns about the scent of your urine with your doctor and stay healthy.
Fruity or sweet-smelling pee
Pee with a sugary or fruity fragrance can serve as a warning sign of diabetes or hyperglycemia (high blood sugar), says Dr. Bajic. The sweet smell comes from your body unloading excess glucose, or sugars.
In children, particularly newborns, sweet-smelling tinkle might indicate maple syrup urine disease. This rare, life-threatening metabolic disorder prevents the body from breaking down specific amino acids found in food.
The underlying message here? Urine that smells sweet shouldn’t be ignored. Check in with a healthcare provider.
There are plenty of innocuous reasons for pee to have notes of sulfur, like asparagus, garlic or onions. But if you haven’t had those foods, foul-smelling urine could indicate one of two rare metabolic disorders.
Trimethylaminuria, also known as TAMU or fish odor syndrome, is a rare condition in which your body is unable to process trimethylamine — which, as it happens, is a particularly stinky chemical. The unfortunate result: Pee, breath and sweat that smells like, you guessed it: rotting fish. This condition can be inherited or acquired. While it’s an unpleasant condition, it isn’t especially dangerous.
The opposite is true of tyrosinemia, which has three distinct types (type I, II and III). Infants with this (extremely rare) genetic disorder can’t break down an amino acid called tyrosine, which is foundational to most proteins. The resulting tyrosine buildup can cause a wide range of severe complications. Tyrosinemia is exceedingly rare, but if your infant’s urine is foul-smelling, you should talk to your baby’s pediatrician anyway, just to be safe.
Pee that smells like ammonia
If you detect a hint of ammonia in your urine, it could be a sign of a urinary tract infection (UTI). The odor suggests that bacteria may be swimming around in your urinary system, most likely in your urethra, kidneys or bladder.
Urine showing signs of a UTI may also be cloudy or even a bit bloody. Peeing may become painful, too — a symptom made even worse by the fact that you may feel the need to urinate more often. A fever and mental confusion are other telltale accompanying signs.
If you have multiple symptoms, schedule a visit with a healthcare provider.
UTIs are pretty common, sending approximately 10 million Americans to a healthcare provider every year for antibiotic treatment, says Dr. Bajic. Women and older adults are more prone to getting the infection.
Other potential causes of urine that carry the whiff of ammonia include:
An ammonia-like odor can also be linked to dehydration and certain foods and vitamins. So, if the smell pops up and disappears quickly, there’s little reason for concern. But if it lingers, get checked by a medical professional.
What Your Pee Smells Tell You About Your Health #shorts
FAQ
Is it bad if my pee smells like chicken?
In lupus nephritis, your glomeruli are damaged by inflammation, allowing proteins into your urine. In addition to smelling like chicken broth, your urine may be foamy or frothy. Other symptoms of lupus nephritis include edema (swollen legs, face, and hands), blood in your urine, and weight gain.
Why does my pee smell like meat?
Why does my pee smell like canned chicken when I eat it?
Your urine contains some of the chemical compounds found in food you’ve recently consumed. These compounds will carry some of the food’s scent into your urine.
What does kidney failure pee smell like?
Why does my urine smell like chicken broth?
Let’s get right to it. The scent of your urine might remind you of a warm bowl of chicken broth due to a blend of dietary choices, hydration levels, and potentially certain health issues. But before you hop to conclusions, it’s essential to understand that occasional changes in urine smell, albeit perplexing, are usually no cause for alarm.
What causes smelly urine?
Let’s explore the most common causes of smelly urine and what steps you can take to address them. Dehydration is one of the most common causes of strong-smelling urine. When you’re dehydrated, urine becomes more concentrated, resulting in a stronger ammonia smell.
Why does my Baby’s urine smell sweet?
However, it could be a sign of high blood sugar or diabetes. The body unloads the excess sugar, which it can’t metabolize into the urine. This results in a sweet-smelling urine. If the sweet smell occurs in infant urine, it might be a sign of maple syrup urine disease.
Why does my pee smell strong?
If Your Pee Smells Strong It could be dehydration, or maybe it’s the supplement you’re taking. As we noted before, your pee is more concentrated when you’re dehydrated, so it has that strong pee smell. Another cause behind that smell, though, can be B-6 vitamins, according to the Cleveland Clinic.
Can food change the odor of your Pee?
Foods can change the odor (and color) of your pee. Just knowing that may relieve your alarm over any smells that have you concerned about the whiff you’re getting. Fun fact: Asparagus and coffee are the most common foods that impact urine odor, Dr. Bajic adds. There’s no difference in what smells “normal” between the sexes, either, he notes.
Why does my pee smell fishy?
Fix it: Drinking more water will dilute your urine, which will tame the smell. You’ll know you’re properly hydrated if your pee is somewhere between clear and a light yellow color, per the Cleveland Clinic. If you have additional symptoms, make an appointment with your doctor. 2. If Your Pee Smells Fishy You might have an infection.