Yes, anesthesia and related medications (like IV fluids, pain meds) can change your urine's smell, often making it stronger or different due to the body processing these substances, but it's usually temporary and resolves as drugs clear out, though it's good to mention to a doctor if it's very foul. Inhalational anesthetics, IV fluids, and pain relievers (opioids) are common culprits for temporary smell or color changes as the body excretes them.
Urinary retention is a common complication that arises after a patient has anesthesia or surgery. The analgesic drugs often disrupt the neural circuitry that controls the nerves and muscles in the urination process.
This is because the vitamins and minerals that are administered through an IV drip are quickly absorbed into the bloodstream and then excreted in the urine. The vitamins and minerals can cause the urine to have a strong odor, as well as change its color.
Various drugs, including anesthetic agents, can cause parosmia in the perioperative period. There are reported cases of patients with alterations of smell and taste due to local anesthetics, nerve damage, or as a side effect of general anesthesia.
Medications for general anesthesia can cause smell alterations after surgery, with inhalation anesthetics being the most acknowledged drugs.
Take a sauna. Sweating, such as through a sauna, is a great way to excrete toxins. For the two weeks after surgery, take a sauna a few times if permitted by your doctor. Make sure to wash the toxins off of your skin after the sauna by showering and washing your body with a castile soap.
Common causes of smelly pee
Things that can often make your pee smell stronger include: certain types of food and drink, like asparagus or coffee. not drinking enough fluids (dehydration) some medicines.
Foul-Smelling Urine: Vitamins & Medication
Kidney failure can make urine smell strongly of ammonia or have a fishy odor, often due to built-up waste products (amines) or infection, signaling concentrated urine from dehydration or kidney dysfunction. Other signs alongside bad-smelling urine include foamy, bloody, or cola-colored urine, swelling, fatigue, and changes in urination, all pointing to potential kidney issues that require a doctor's evaluation.
Anesthesia is metabolized and eliminated from your body relatively quickly. Depending on the type of anesthesia used, the effects can last from a few minutes to several hours. Most general anesthetics are eliminated from the body within 24 hours.
The "21-second pee rule" comes from a scientific study showing most mammals over about 3 kg (6.6 lbs) empty their bladders in roughly 21 seconds, a phenomenon explained by physics where longer, wider urethras in larger animals use gravity to maintain a similar flow rate to smaller ones, and it serves as a loose benchmark for human bladder health; significantly shorter or longer times can signal issues like overactive bladder or holding it too long.
You may experience side effects such as:
You should worry about urine smell and see a doctor if it's persistent, accompanied by fever, pain/burning during urination, cloudy or bloody urine, or if it smells sweet (potential diabetes) or rotten (potential infection/kidney stones). While often temporary due to dehydration or food, persistent strong or unusual odors, especially with other symptoms, warrant medical attention to rule out UTIs, diabetes, or other conditions.
Urinary retention usually goes away on its own with time (1-2 weeks after surgery) as it is related to some swelling in the area near the urethra because of your surgery.
You can breathe a mixture of anaesthetic gases and oxygen through the light plastic face mask. The gases smell quite strong, and it usually takes two or three minutes to become unconscious.
Leaking gastric juices may cause internal infections and can lead to recurrent UTIs that, in turn, could cause urine to smell like sulfur. Gastrointestinal fistulas occur most commonly after abdominal surgery or in people with chronic digestive problems.
Bladder infection. Cystitis (irritation of the bladder) Dehydration — when the body doesn't have enough water and other fluids to work as it should. Diabetic ketoacidosis (in which the body has high levels of blood acids called ketones)
Liver disease can make urine smell musty, sweet, or like ammonia due to the buildup of toxins (like dimethyl disulfide/methyl mercaptan) that the failing liver can't process, leading to a specific scent known as foetor hepaticus, often accompanied by dark urine and jaundice. This ammonia-like odor comes from excess urea breakdown, while a sweet smell can also signal uncontrolled diabetes, so a medical evaluation is crucial.
Foul-smelling urine may be due to bacteria. Sweet-smelling urine may be a sign of uncontrolled diabetes or a rare disease of metabolism. Liver disease and certain metabolic disorders may cause musty-smelling urine.
Patients affected by trimethylaminuria will often have fishy-smelling urine. Trimethylaminuria is a genetic disorder in which affected individuals have an enzymatic deficiency that makes them unable to metabolize TMA. Because they cannot metabolize TMA, affected individuals have a buildup of TMA in their bodies.
Urine typically smells mild, but many factors — from dehydration and drinking too much coffee to health issues and medications — can affect the way your urine smells. In many cases, strong-smelling urine isn't an issue and the odor returns to normal quickly.
The American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) formally established evidence-based NPO guidelines in 1998, and virtually all anesthesia societies today have adopted some modest variation of the ASA's “2-4-6-8 rule.” Healthy patients are permitted clear (nonparticulate) liquids up to 2 hours prior to surgery, breast ...
Your body will take up to a week to completely eliminate the medicines from your system but most people will not notice much effect after about 24 hours. For this reason, we ask you to refrain from making important decisions or from driving a car for 24 hours after your surgery.
As your body readjusts to a new normal, all of your systems can experience symptoms, including your digestive system. Nausea, vomiting and diarrhea are all common symptoms of alcohol and drug detox as your body tries to regulate what you're now putting into your system versus what you have in the past.