Urine-like odor?

Keepstanding, ASN, RN · Nov 12, 2009

Hi Sara, I have seen kids who's cat has urinated on their clothing, coats and backpacks and this will cause that notable urine smell. It's worse than human urine smells. Maybe check out that angle. :coollook:

schoolnurse1001 · Nov 12, 2009

I have heard that kids who are around people making meth will have an urine odor due to the anhydrous amonia used in making meth.

Hope that's not the reason.

20mom10 · Nov 12, 2009

I have heard that sometimes the "sweet" breath of a diabetic can smell like urine to some people

noreenl · Nov 13, 2009

There is this awesome website for odd body aromas with internal or external causes. it helped find a dx for a kid we had with a serious body odor problem and now he is fine and happy!

sharpeimom · Nov 15, 2009

I realize this a long shot, but we have owned many cats and fostered quite a few more, several of whom have developed an off odor that smelled vaguely of urine. When we would smell their undersides to see if they had sprayed a bit when they urinated, that wasn't it. Sometimes it was on the cat's breath and sometimes was body odor and would always herald the beginning of renal disease and sometimes renal failure. Has your munchkin ever been tested?

missfixit · Dec 9, 2009

I am dealing with a similar problem. I have three siblings at my school and they all smell terrible! It is not your typical "lack of hygiene" smell. I think it has something to do with the environment they are living in. The older child said they have lots of animals. I tried talking to Dad, but it just made him angry and defensive. Something has to give, I have exhausted all the avenues that I know. One of the children left a notebook in my office-- it even smelled! That is how bad this is!

mustlovepoodles, RN · Dec 21, 2009

I am dealing with a similar problem. I have three siblings at my school and they all smell terrible! It is not your typical "lack of hygiene" smell. I think it has something to do with the environment they are living in. The older child said they have lots of animals. I tried talking to Dad, but it just made him angry and defensive. Something has to give, I have exhausted all the avenues that I know. One of the children left a notebook in my office-- it even smelled! That is how bad this is!

Ugh. I had a student in my middle school who just flat out stunk! He smelled like a mix of urine, body odor, cigarettes, and feces. He was in a wheelchair and everywhere he went there was this funk that followed him. It finally got so bad that his parapro started gagging. The smell was really just awful, it made me nauseous and the other students stood as far away from him as they could.

I tried talking to the boy about bathing and washing his clothes. I tried talking to his mother(no go.) I finally had to address it with Social Services, who went out to the house and did a little visit to make sure there was running water, washing facilities, etc. Mostly what we found out is that the boy couldn't manage a tub bath so he just washed up(infrequently). The whole house smelled like stale cigarettes, cats, and fried food. They rarely washed clothes,and never washed his coat or the wheelchair pad so all his little "dribbles" were soaking through his clothes and being trapped in that wheelchair seat. That boy's mother was furious with me, but faced with the possible charge of neglect they made some changes.

I won't say he was totally cured, but it got dramatically better. I met with him a few more times and we talked about how poor hygiene affects how much people want to be around you, and the importance of changing underwear every day and wearing clean clothes. He got his hair cut and started wearing a fresh shirt every day. I complimented him from time to time for all his efforts and he just ate it up.

DestinyCat · Jan 3, 2011

It could be trimethylaminuria