You might have noticed that your baby or child’s urine smells strong and aren’t sure of the cause. Generally, there are a lot of lifestyle and medical reasons for strong-smelling urine in children and babies that are nothing to worry about, including certain supplements, foods and drinks. We’ve compiled a list of the most common reasons why your little one’s urine might smell strong.

What causes baby urine to smell?

1.     Lifestyle reasons for smelly wee

There are a number of harmless reasons your child might have strong-smelling urine. Some lifestyle factors that might cause this include:

• not drinking enough fluids – this can be remedied by encouraging your child to drink more water
• Vitamin B6 supplements¹
• certain foods, such as asparagus, garlic, salmon and curry²
• if you are breastfeeding, taking a Fenugreek supplement for milk production might make your baby’s wee smelly³
• some medicines, such as antibiotics
• concentrated urine, such as when they first pee in the morning⁴

If the scent of your child or baby’s urine is causing you concern, you could therefore try eliminating these things from their diet to see if it improves.

Additionally, if your child is also experiencing leaks or bed-wetting, you can use the Baby & Junior range available on iD Direct to manage these issues. The pants and nappies in this range are breathable and discreet, meaning you can be assured of your child’s comfort.

2.     Medical causes for strong-smelling urine

While most smelly urine is nothing to worry about and probably caused by the dietary and lifestyle reasons we listed above, there are some medical reasons why your youngster might have strong-smelling urine. These include:

• a urinary tract infection (UTI) – smelly urine is the risk factor that is most strongly linked to UTIs.⁷ Other symptoms include discomfort and crying (in babies) when passing urine, bloody wee and tummy pain⁸
• diabetes – if your child’s wee smells and they are also very thirsty and tired, this could be a sign of Type 2 Diabetes⁹
• genetic predisposition – there are certain genetic disorders that can cause smelly urine, such as trimethylaminuria, a metabolic disorder
• a disrupted pH balance of the vagina⁵ – this can occur through excess washing or using the wrong bath or shower products. To prevent this from happening, avoid perfumed soaps and only wash their external genitals⁶
• yeast infection.¹⁰ To help prevent yeast infections, you should encourage your child to wear cotton underwear¹¹
• maple syrup urine disorder (MSUD) – MSUD is a very rare disorder (only 1 in 185,000 children worldwide have it) that causes a child’s urine to smell like brown sugar or maple syrup. It is usually diagnosed at birth and is inherited¹²

If you think your child may have one of the conditions mentioned above, iD recommends talking to your healthcare provider about your child’s symptoms.

Smelly urine can just be par for the course as a parent, thanks to various dietary factors, but some medical reasons can cause it, so it may be worth exploring further with your doctor.

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