My 3 Year Urine Smells Really Strong

It could be something that she is eating or drinking. My daughter had a severe problem with body odor. Bless her heart, she could take a shower, put on deodorant, baby powder, perfume/body spray,etc. within 30 minutes, she would smell so bad you could not stand to be close to her. I carried her to the doctor and didn't get any answers. It was awful. Then I just so happened to find out what was causing this awful problem. I went to Wal-Mart to buy soft drinks for the weekend. My daughter loves Cherry Dr. Pepper but Wal-Mart was out of them so I got some Regular Dr. Pepper's and some A&W Cream Soda. When Monday rolled around I noticed she wasn't stinking anymore. It was the cherry flavoring causing her to have the bad odor. So she gave up drinking Cherry Dr. Pepper and her problem is solved.

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Does she eat a lot of asparagus? That can make urine smell.

what color is her urine? Is it bright yellow or is it clear?

what color are the whites of her eyes? if they are NOT white? I'd go back to the doctor and ask for a liver function test to be done.

when you say "STRONG" what do you mean? Bitter or sweet?

what tests have the doctors done? Why don't you trust the doctors? The tests came back normal, right? You don't trust them? You need to keep a journal of your daughter's diet. She's 3. She should be potty trained by now. So you follow her into the bathroom and smell her urine or what? I don't get it. Does she tell you her urine smells funny?

Please provide more information.

Did they check for a UTI or bladder infection? (Does she pee frequently, does it burn, fever, etc?)

Is it dark colored? Usually if smells and dark - dehydration (just have her drink more)

Does she take a children's multivitamin? Those can affect pee. Same with medications.

What test did you have?

This question seems familiar.
If the doctor and tests says there's nothing wrong then relax.

Did you ask the doctor what to do next? If he made suggestions, have you tried them? If the doctor said there isn't medical reason causing the smell, consider that it's caused by what she's eating or drinking. Try eliminating one food or drink every few days. Or keep a food diary and note what her urine smells like.

I do wonder how you know her urine smells if she's using the toilet. Perhaps, if the odor is strong you could catch a whiff from her diaper or potty chair. If that's the case consider the odor is a reaction to the diaper or potty. I have 5 grandchildren and notice a mild difference in odor sometimes when I change diapers. It's never been a concern.

What about the odor worries you?

You don't trust your doctor. Find a new one. Are you taking her to a pediatric urologist or a pediatrician? I would find a pediatric urologist.

A food journal is really important. You need to know how her body is reacting to foods. If it smells sweet? She needs to be checked for juvenile diabetes.

It would help to know what tests were run. Did the doctor just do a urine sample? Was there any blood tests done?

I like to keep things simple. To me if her urine us strong try having her drink more. Water is best but if she won't drink more water give her decaf ice tea or Kool-Aide type drinks. Keep her hydrated for a few days and see what happens.
I suspect she isn't getting enough fluids.

You need a pediatric urologist. You should write down a week's worth, at least, diary of everything your child eats and drinks. It could be that there is an allergy to the almond milk.

Did your ped tell you to cut down the milk to 16 oz a day? Or did you decide that? Your child needs enough calcium. You need to be making sure with your pediatrician how much calcium your child needs, and how to get it. You need to know for sure from your doctor (not a TV show or advertisement, etc) that there is enough calcium in the almond milk.

Your pediatrician and your pediatric urologist need to work together. Make this happen.

If you don't trust your doctor, get a second opinion. I agree with Doris Day below - pediatric urologist. I also agree that a food diary is important.

It's hard to guess without knowing what tests, what medications, and what foods might be involved here.

Of course, this is just my opinion, but I have noticed that most commercial nut milks and soy milks contain thickeners and carrageenan and xanthan gums. Carrageenan can be harmful to the digestive system, and if your daughter is drinking 16 ounces daily, that's a lot of carrageenan. Why does she drink almond milk? And if you are determined to have her drink only almond milk, then why not make your own? It's very easy. Just soak almonds, puree in a food processor, drain through cheesecloth or a nut milk bag (available on Amazon). You can also make oat milk from steel cut oats. There are lots of instructions online.

And have her calcium levels analyzed to make sure she's getting enough calcium.

I suggest you try eliminating the commercial almond milk for a couple of weeks, and increase the water. Make a batch of homemade almond milk with just almonds and water and see what happens.

I guess I'll ask, what color is her urine? Is the toilet water yellow after she goes? How yellow is it? If it's more than just a light yellow color then her urine is too concentrated and that means she needs more water.

BUT, did you know that in countries where they don't drink much water they don't have more problems from lack of water? They drink other things and that is all they have.

I'd say drop the milk, let her have regular milk and see if her urine odor changes. If we think about it I believe we can all say that different formulas made our infants have different smelling diapers. I can remember what soy formula smells like that way. It nearly gagged me. But regular formula didn't have that odor.

I've never done any milk except regular vitamin D 2% milk for your preschool age child's age group so I wouldn't know for sure that a milk alternative wasn't to blame for this.

If you are having an odor problem and her urine isn't strong/dark yellow then she'd getting enough water. It has to be something she's either eating or drinking. I'd drop the almond milk and go with the real stuff. See if it changes things up.