Cloudy Smelly Urine

"It has been six years since I had sex. I’ve started having an odor when I urinate. It’s been three weeks and the odor is still occurring. Also, my urine is a little cloudy."

Joan answers:

I wish you had asked your doctor instead of me! You didn’t say what kind of odor, so I’ll cover a few options. Cloudy urine with an ammonia scent can be a sign of dehydration, so start by drinking more water. (Not coffee – that’s dehydrating.)

Some foods (notably asparagus!) and medications also cause urine odor. But cloudy, odorous urine can also be the sign of a medical problem that needs to be diagnosed and treated. For example: a sweet odor can be diabetes. A foul odor can be a urinary tract infection (UTI).

Cloudy, smelly urine can indicate kidney stones, a sexually transmitted infection (not likely if symptoms came on suddenly after six years of abstinence), or a number of other conditions. Please make an appointment with your doctor.