What causes Oily Urine?

Very few people ever take a moment to look keenly at their wastes. But it is dangerous to avoid doing this seemingly irrelevant task; the urine or feces that one produces can tell a lot about their health status.  It can also help to detect diseases early and treat them before they take toll of the individual. This article takes a look at why a person would produce oily urine and what it signals about their health.

What causes oily urine?

There are a variety of factors that may lead to production of oily urine. Some of these are not so serious while a few can be life threatening. They include the following:

Dehydration

When the body has not enough liquid, it absorbs water from the content in the bladder, leaving highly concentrated, dark yellow urine. In some cases, one may feel itchy when releasing this urine. You can solve this by drinking enough water after a heavy exercise or a long day without it.

At times however, the body may feel like it’s dehydrated when it really isn’t, and so it ends up excessively absorbing urinal water into the blood. If you continuously produce yellow urine despite taking enough liquids, this might be an early sign of hypertension.

Starvation

Starvation occurs when a person consumes very little food or no food at all. At times, the body may also starve even though the person is eating normally. This happens when certain problems develop in the digestive system such that food cannot be processed or absorbed into the body.

In other circumstances, everything else may be okay except for the fact that the body’s rate of metabolism is higher than normal. This particular condition is referred to as hypermetabolism.

Under the above mentioned circumstances, the body literally turns to itself for food. It feeds on stored fats, and when these run out, it starts to feed on the stored protein in the abdomen, buttocks, waist, and hips.

Some of the waste products produced when these proteins burn are released into the urinal tract and can make urine to acquire an oily appearance.  The condition, known as ketosis, can be life threatening. In addition to oily urine, symptoms like excessive weight loss and gout can also indicate ketosis.

Vitamins in Urine

Presence of vitamins in urine can make it acquire an oily hue. This may indicate that the person is taking too much vitamins. If that is the case, the individual should quit taking artificial supplements.

On the other hand, vitamins in urine may come about due to their poor absorption in the intestines. This also means that the individual is losing other important minerals and is not gaining much from the foods they eat. Without adequate vitamins, the body’s immune system is weakened and it might pave way for dangerous diseases.

Chyle

Chyle is a special type of fat that is derived from certain foods in the intestine. Because of its high density, it cannot be absorbed directly into blood vessels, and so it travels through the lymphatic system to the heart, brain and liver where it is needed most.

During this journey however, high pressure in the lymphatic vessels may cause chyle to be dropped into the urinal tract where it is released as waste. This is especially common in pregnant mothers, Cancer and cirrhosis patients, and people infected by round worms.

Chyle may cause a shiny, milky appearance in urine. In large amounts, the urine also becomes sticky.

Other signs to watch out for in urine

Apart from oily appearance in urine, there are other signs that may indicate underlying problems:

Stench

Normal urine has moderate stench. When the ammonic smell in your pee gets too high however, it may be a sign that either your urinal tract is infected or that you are producing too much ketoses. In babies, this may also indicate that the intestines and bladder are connected in an abnormal way.

A proper medical checkup will determine suitable intervention methods for each situation. These may range from simple lifestyle changes to more complex approaches like surgery and medication.

Sugary smell in Urine

Presence of sugar in urine can be confirmed if a sweet smell emanates from it. This is a sign that the person is suffering from diabetes. Sugar comes into urine when either the body does not produce enough insulin (type 1) or when the body cells that are supposed to convert sugar to fats are insulin resistant (type 2). It is very crucial for anyone is suffering from diabetes to begin early treatment.

Monitoring your own health through your urine behavior is a habit you must embrace if you value your wellbeing. Apart from appearance and smell, you should also check on the frequency and amounts of your release. Too little or too much urine is a probable indicator a medical issue.