# What causes strong smelling urine in children?



## MamaAllNatural

My children all have very potent smelling urine. My 3 yo dd is still in diapers at night so I still have the "honor"







of knowing what her urine smells like and it's become progressively more pungent over the last year or so. Her urine before that never smelled bad to me. Now even my 11 month old baby in the past few months has much stronger smelling urine. It used to smell like nothing for the most part. My older son has had the really strong smelling urine too - luckily I just don't ever really have to deal with it though.

So, what is going on? Is this a health issue? Is it indicitive of something else going on w/thier bodies? I'd really appreciate any feedback. Thanks









*ETA: They also urinate a lot. My little guy soaks his diapers like nobody's business. If anything, I'd say it was abnormal how much he pees. So, I can't see how it could be inadequate fluids. DD urinates frequently throughout the day as well and when she does wear a diaper at night she soaks it very, very heavily. Older ds has always urinated a lot as well - frequently and large amounts of urine.


----------



## birthmommom

from what i know about strong odor urine is that the child is not getting enough water! i have this same problem with dd, especially at night b/c she is sleeping not drinking water. her pee doesnt smell bad during the day.

I would just try to increase their water during the day and see if that helps.

HTH


----------



## BusyMommy

Yep, I'd guess water, too. They







say that if you wait till you're thirsty to drink, then you're already dehydrated.


----------



## HollyBearsMom

Is also a dark color? If so, I would also say lack of liquids. Water is great and should be your first choice but liquids can also come from other sources if your kids won't drink a lot of water. Herbal teas both hot and iced, diluted fruit juices, homemade agua fresca (fruit infused water), popsicles (I make my own) etc.


----------



## MamaAllNatural

Thanks for your replies.







I do feel like they're getting enough fluids. So this leads me to wonder if they have liver problems and are not absorbing fluids well enough.







I'm going to up their fluid intake anyway and see what happens.








:


----------



## MamaAllNatural

Bumping because I added more info to the OP.


----------



## Mom2Adam

Could it be something in their diet, (like asparagus?) or a multi vitamin of some sort. or lots of garlic or something like that?


----------



## sleepies

a couple of people mentioned vitamins
i agree.

when my son takes his vitimans regularly, then his pee stinks.


----------



## Wesley Zufelt

We have 8 kids, but we have one child who is 7 and is still having troubles getting through the night dry. As with the OP, his urine has a very strong pungent smell. So bad that I had my wife take him in to get looked at for possible liver/kidney problems, they ran tests and said he was normal. He is the only one with this smelly pee, they all eat the same thing, get enough fluids and I am at a loss as to why his stinks soooo bad. I am thinking there HAS to be something messed up and it is effecting his ability to sleep the night without peeing. We switched to large washable diapers because he pees every single night. So to cut costs on buying diapers my wife made some.

Also as the OP stated, my child pees like a race horse....I never thought a kid could pee soooo much at one time!


----------



## monseymom

if it makes you feel better, I have a child that does the same thing. he's turning 9. thank g-d he doesn't pee every single night (anymore) but boy does his pee stink.


----------



## jstifter

Can anyone help me on this? My son is four, and it's NOT due to a lack of water intake, I promise you. He easily drinks 48 to 64 fl. oz. per day, if we restrict him-and that's water, not juice or pop-straight water. His urine smells horribly! You'd think dehydration, but unless something else is wrong, that shouldn't be it. He wet the other night, and then the other morning when he was sick and fell nack asleep. I've washed everything, and it still smells somewhat of urine (they're drying on the line, so I hope the remaining smell just blows away). One blanket has been washed twice and I can still smell it. Mu bathrooms smell bad, I can't keep them cleaned/disinfected gast or often enough. He drinks a lot, he pees all the time! Dr. doesn't act like she's concerned, or at least doesn't know what it could mean, so we just move on. Help!


----------



## littlebear3

From drgeenes website:

"The classic symptoms of type 1 diabetes, then, are increased urination (polyuria), increased thirst (polydipsia), increased eating (polyphagia) and weight loss. Anyone with the classic symptoms should have a blood sugar test as well as a urine test."

Might be worth discussing with your dr. Urine tests are quick and easy to rule it out at the very least. If it's abnormal then go to the blood test.


Also uti's can cause smelly urine. Boys can get them too.

Those were my thoughts of possibility after reading your post. A urine test is easy enough to rule out or confirm many things regarding smelly urine.


----------



## boron

In urinary infection, the urine can be cloudy and smelly, urination can be frequent but not excessive (no increase in total daily urine volume).

In dehydration, urine smells only if it's also yellow.

In diabetes, the urine is clear, frequent and excessive ("full" amount" every time) and can have a smell of ripe fruits (acetone smell).

If you think, frequent urination is also an issue, you can check for various causes here:
http://www.ehealthstar.com/frequent-urination-polyuria.php


----------



## Are Enríquez

*Just what I suspected!*

Someone mentioned vitamins!!! My regular vitamins make my urine have a certain smell, but these couple of weeks I have forgoten to take them. In the meantime I got a bottle of gummy vitamins for my son, then I started to notice a super strong smell in his urine, but also forgot about it. Days later, I started taking the gummies as well, only because they are oh so yummy, and bam! My urine started smelling like my son's! And now I know why! Those vitamins!!!!!!!! Hope you find peace in my experience.


----------

