RELATED: If You Notice This on Your Hands, Get Your Liver Checked, Doctors Say. Having “fruity” or sweet-smelling urine can be a sign of diabetes. If you notice a sudden onset of sweet-smelling urine, this could be due to hyperglycemia, says Jamin Brahmbhatt, MD, a urologist and chief of surgery at Orlando Health South Lake Hospital. “This change in smell in the urine is a sign that the glucose in your blood is too high,” a feature in undiagnosed or poorly controlled diabetes, he recently told Verywell Health. “For some, fruity smelling urine is the first sign that they have developed diabetes,” Brahmbhatt added.ae0fcc31ae342fd3a1346ebb1f342fcb For more health news sent directly to your inbox, sign up for our daily newsletter. It can also signal a life-threatening complication of diabetes. In rarer cases, sweet-smelling urine can be the result of diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA), a condition that is considered a life-threatening medical emergency. It can occur as a result of type 1 or type 2 diabetes, and is more common when the disease has gone undiagnosed over a long period of time. “When the cells can’t access glucose, they begin to break down fat for energy. The resulting chemicals are called ketones,“explains Brahmbhatt. In patients with DKA, ketones then build up in the blood, causing excess acid in the bloodstream. This “poisons” the body, the doctor says, and can result in diabetic coma or death. RELATED: If You Notice This Mark on Your Nails, See Your Doctor Immediately. Sometimes, a UTI is to blame. Though sweet-smelling urine can be the result of diabetes or DKA, it can also be the consequence of something more temporary: a urinary tract infection (UTI). In this case, the change in your urine occurs because bacteria has been released into the urine. In addition to this symptom, you would likely also experience more frequent and more painful urination. If you suspect a UTI, contact your doctor, who may prescribe antibiotics to lessen your symptoms. If healthy, here’s what you can expect instead. Under normal circumstances, you can expect your urine to be clear, odorless, and pain-free. It is still considered healthy if the color is light yellow, a pigmentation resulting from the breakdown of the blood’s hemoglobin during waste removal in the kidneys. Consult your doctor if you notice any sudden changes in urine color, smell, or frequency. RELATED: If You Can’t Stop Doing This at Night, Get Your Thyroid Checked.
