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Already the ancients realized that diseases can be identified by smell. The famous Greek physician Hippocrates sensed diabetes in the patient after the smell of fruit from his mouth, and Chinese doctors – typhus after the smell of fresh bread. Many diseases related to metabolic disorders manifest themselves in this way, also through the smell of urine excretion. Of course, not all bad breath is serious, but if your urine has a strange smell for a long time, you may be concerned. Simply put, when urine suddenly changes its smell or color, we should almost certainly be interested in it. Find out how to recognize dangerous symptoms.
Fresh urine has a specific and unmistakable smell, but it may change depending on our health condition or the food we have eaten. In a healthy person, urine is amber in color, relatively light and clear. However, if it turns slightly red, it could be a sign of serious kidney problems, a hemorrhagic diathesis, or a stone in the urinary tract. The smell of ammonia infallibly suggests a dangerous concentration of ammonium phosphate in the urine, while diabetic acidosis manifests itself after the smell of acetone. Dark, even brown color means an increased level of bilirubin, which is formed as a result of the dying of red blood cells. However, not every change in smell is equally severe, such as when you eat asparagus.
Unpleasant asparagus
Summer has started, and with it, it’s time for asparagus. Quite often in medical forums you can come across a question about the unnatural smell of urine after eating. If you feel it too, it means that you are in an elite group of people endowed with a harmless DNA mutation. Less than 15% of people are able to sense the characteristic smell of urine. This trait is genetically inherited and is inherited in an autosomal dominant fashion. It reflects the ability to metabolize precursor compounds from vegetables. This relationship was discovered in 1975 by the American chemist R. White, who examined the urine of 115 people who had eaten asparagus before.
Odor has been found to be directly related to the presence of two to seven milligrams of sulfur-containing alkyl derivatives in the urine. These compounds are not found naturally in asparagus and are the result of the metabolism of the precursor compounds in the vegetable. In this case, there is no need to worry because these compounds are harmless to our body and the smell disappears after a few days.
Fish trouble
While the properties of urine from asparagus were a natural consequence of metabolism, urine that gives off a fishy odor, although also physically harmless, may be a more socially burdensome ailment. Trimethylaminuria (TMA), also known as fish odor syndrome, is a rare metabolic disorder that causes the body to lack the enzyme FMO3. This compound is involved in the conversion of trimethylamine, which is found, for example, in fish.
When FMO3 is deficient or impaired, the body is unable to break down TMA. Excess substance is excreted in urine, sweat and is contained in saliva. Although the first diagnosed and medically documented case of this disease dates back to 1970, there are many references to an unpleasant ailment in the literature. Mahabharata, an ancient Hindu poem, describes a beautiful girl who was known to exude a fishy scent. Also in Shakespeare’s comedy The Tempest, one of the characters comments on Caliban’s ailment: What do we have here, a man or a fish? alive or dead? it is fish, it smells like fish: very ancient and very fishy smell.
For unknown reasons, the disease is more common in women. Scientists speculate that female sex hormones like progesterone and estrogen exacerbate symptoms. Although there is no effective treatment for trimethylaminuria yet, those affected are not doomed to social marginalization. By maintaining a proper diet, such as avoiding legumes, certain fish, meats, and foods that contain nitrogen, carnitine and sulfur, you can reduce the amount of odor produced. In addition, antibiotics that reduce the concentration of bacteria in the digestive system and the use of acidic skin detergents with a pH of up to 6.5 will help.
Maple syrup
Another metabolic disease that manifests itself in the disturbing smell of urine is the so-called maple syrup disease (MUSD). As in the case of asparagus and trimethylaminuria, the cause of its occurrence is also a genetically conditioned disorder of amino acid metabolism (leucine, isoleucine, valine) with autosomal recessive inheritance. In MSUD, inhibition of biochemical reactions at the level of branched alpha-keto acid dehydrogenesis causes accumulation of both alpha-keto acids and leucine, isoleucine and valine in the blood, in the cerebrospinal fluid and urine, which in turn causes disease symptoms.
The patient’s urine smells like maple syrup or burnt sugar. The effectiveness of treatment varies, depending on the depth of the metabolic defect and from the time the therapy was started. Untreated babies usually die at the end of the first year of life, so the key is tests performed immediately after delivery, right after the baby smells by the mother or the doctor. Initiating treatment in the first week of life reduces the effects of the disease, which in this case is not fatal.
Prevention
When we smell an unusual urine smell, do not panic. In most cases it is the aforementioned result of a specific diet, or a lower tolerance to food products that contain, for example, a high concentration of sulfur. However, if we want to be sure that we are okay, we should go for a urine test. It is one of the basic diagnostic tests which, despite its simplicity, answers many questions related to the functioning of the urinary system, mainly the kidneys.
Thanks to the centrifuge examination, the doctor is able to quickly determine whether the morphotic components of the sediment include, for example, leukocytes or erythrocytes. Such a test with great certainty also detects dangerous bacteria, fungi and mucus.
A healthy bladder – the Panaseus dietary supplement, has a supportive effect on the urinary system, which you can use both prophylactically and as a supplement to the treatment of ailments.