Why Does My Urine Smell Like Chicken Broth? - Causes & When To Worry

When Your Urine Has An Unusual Smell

Urine can smell like almost anything - sweet, musky, rotten, or oddly even like chicken broth. The cause behind urine odor changes can originate from your foods, medications, or an underlying health condition. While subtle urine scent changes are usually harmless, a strong foul odor can indicate an infection or illness needing medical attention.

What Does Healthy Urine Smell Like?

Normal healthy urine has a mild nutty or bitter aroma that is fairly faint. Asparagus, beets, and Vitamin B supplements can impart smell changes after urinating. However, if the stench is very unpleasant or strange, like smelling strongly of chicken broth, an underlying cause may need investigation.

Why Does My Pee Smell Like Chicken Broth?

Urine that smells like chicken broth can have a few key explanations:

• Dehydration - When you are not drinking enough fluids, your urine becomes highly concentrated, producing a potent broth-like smell.
• Diet - Eating large amounts of onions, garlic, meat, spices, or salt can cause a meaty aroma in urine.
• Maple Syrup Urine Disease - A rare genetic disorder causing an inability to fully break down certain amino acids, resulting in chicken broth-like urine.
• Urinary Tract Infection - A UTI produces foul stenches, including a stewed smell, due to bacteria buildup in urine.
• Kidney dysfunction - Impaired kidney filtering allows urea and ammonia to accumulate, emitting a strong broth odor.

When To See A Doctor

While temporary diet causes of chicken broth pee are harmless, other underlying reasons warrant medical assessment. See your doctor promptly if you have broth-scented urine along with:

• Burning or pain during urination
• Need to urinate frequently or urgently
• Vomiting, fever, fatigue or confusion
• Visible blood or cloudiness in urine
• Swollen feet or ankles indicating fluid retention
• Unable to pass more than a small amount of urine

These accompanying symptoms indicate a possible kidney infection, kidney disease, diabetes complications, or maple syrup urine disease needing prompt treatment.

What The Color And Smell Means

Along with an odd chicken broth smell, abnormal urine color changes can indicate health issues. Here is what different urine colors may represent:

Orange Urine

Bright neon or dark orange urine can result from:

• Consuming large amounts of carrot, vitamin C, or B vitamins
• Hepatitis infection causing bilirubin buildup in urine
• Bile duct blockage from gallstones
• Rhabdomyolysis which breaks down muscle releasing myoglobin into urine

Blue or Green Urine

Blue or green colored urine is most often caused by:

• Consuming blue food coloring or dyes
• Taking methylene blue medication
• Bacterial buildup in urinary system
• Blockage of the bladder or urethra

Dark Brown or Cola-colored Urine

Dark brown, cola colored urine is typically due to:

• Severe dehydration
• Jaundice associated with liver disease
• Porphyria disorder interfering with red blood cell production
• Medications containing phenazopyridine hydrochloride

Pink or Red Urine

See your doctor right away if your urine smells like chicken broth and is pink or red tinged, which signals:

• Bladder, kidney or prostate infection
• Bladder or kidney injury or stones
• Blood disorders like sickle cell anemia
• Cancer of the bladder, prostate or kidneys

The red or pink color results from blood mixing into urine.

When Urine Smells Like Maple Syrup

In some cases, chicken broth like urine can smell distinctly sweet, similar to maple syrup. This rare urine odor, along with lack of energy, poor feeding and vomiting in infants points specifically to a genetic disorder called maple syrup urine disease (MSUD).

Causes of Maple Syrup Urine Disease

MSUD is a metabolic condition causing a deficiency in enzymes needed to fully break down three key amino acids - leucine, isoleucine and valine. As these amino acids build up to toxic levels in blood and urine without proper processing, neurological damage can result.

Maple Syrup Urine Disease Symptoms

If maple syrup urine disease goes undetected and untreated in infants, life-threatening and disabling symptoms emerge such as:

• Lethargy, irritability, poor appetite
• Vomiting
• Fever
• Jerky muscle movements
• Combativeness progressing to seizures
• Breathing problems
• Coma

Maple Syrup Urine Disease Treatment

Early intervention is key to managing MSUD and preventing severe complications. Treatment strategies include:

• Avoidance of protein-rich foods - Your doctor will advise a customized low protein diet.
• Amino acid formula supplement - Prescribed to provide adequate nutrition for growth and development.
• Medications - To enhance enzyme activity and control amino acid levels.

Some children may eventually require liver transplantation if amino acid levels cannot be controlled using more conservative treatments.

When Frequent Urination Accompanies Brothy Smelling Urine

Along with urine that smells strongly like chicken broth, needing to urinate every 10 minutes or more can signal a simple bladder infection or more serious condition like diabetes mellitus or insipidus.

Causes of Frequent Urination

Some reasons why urine smells like broth and urination is excessive include:

• Urinary Tract Infection - The urgency and burning during a UTI stems from bacteria inflammation in the urethra and bladder.
• Pregnancy - Hormonal changes and womb pressure on the bladder leads to peeing more often.
• Prostate Enlargement in Men - The prostate gland puts extra pressure on the bladder.
• Diabetes Mellitus - High blood sugar pulls fluid from tissues, causing frequent urination.
• Diabetes Insipidus - With this endocrine disorder, the kidneys cannot appropriately concentrate urine, leading to excessive diluted urination.

When To Call The Doctor About Frequent Urination

See your physician if urination exceeds every 1 to 2 hours accompanied by:

• Burning sensation or stinging
• Inability to delay need to urinate
• Pee accidents due to urgency
• Back, pelvis, side or abdominal pain
• Nausea, vomiting or fever suggests possible kidney infection
• Excessive thirst - common with diabetes insipidus or mellitus

Evaluation of frequent urination includes physical examination, urinalysis, and possibly imaging tests. Underlying causes will be determined and treated appropriately with antibiotics for infections or medications tailored to the diagnosis.

The Link Between Brothy Smelling Urine And Yeast Infections

Another possible cause of chicken broth like urine is contamination of urine or vaginal fluids with yeast or fungi microbes. Both men and women can experience strong smelling urine related to yeast overgrowth.

Yeast Infection of the Bladder or Urethra

Some key signs pointing to a urinary tract yeast infection include:

• Bad odor reminiscent of chicken broth
• Burning sensation when urinating
• Pelvic discomfort
• Cloudy or bloody urine
• In men - discharge from the penis

Yeast Infection of the Vagina

Telltale symptoms of vaginal yeast overgrowth with foul smelly discharge include:

• Cottage cheese-like discharge
• Vaginal soreness and burning
• Pain during sexual intercourse
• Rash or redness

Yeast infection smells can be passed from vaginal fluids to urine causing an apparent yeast-related urine odor.

Treating Yeast Infections

Yeast overgrowth is readily treated using antifungal medications, probiotics to restore healthy bacteria balance, and minimizing factors that trigger fungal spread. Maintaining blood sugar control in diabetics also keeps yeast growth in check.

When To Take Urine That Smells Like Broth Seriously

Temporary broth scent changes after eating asparagus or taking B vitamins can safely be ignored. However, if your urine smells persistently like chicken broth or maple syrup, prompt medical investigation is crucial for identifying and treating related infections and disorders.

Particularly seek emergency care if you have broth-like urine in combination with back pain, high fever, shaking and chills, or difficulty passing urine. These red flag symptoms indicate a severe kidney infection or kidney failure requiring hospitalization.

With appropriate treatment guided by urinalysis results and diagnosis, abnormal scents and related symptoms can improve. But when ignored, ongoing urine odor changes and urinary symptoms can have serious consequences.

Monitoring the smell, color and frequency of your urine provides insight into health status. But get evaluated if broth odor lingers to determine and resolve the root cause promptly.

Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute medical advice. Always consult with a healthcare professional before starting any new treatment regimen.