It is not normal to have white stuff in urine. This can however happen to both males and female and can often be a sign of a parasitic infection, urinary tract infection or a kidney disorder among other possible causes. Here is an insight on what causes this and what you need to do especially during pregnancy.
White stuff or particles in urine – what does it mean?
So what does white stuff or particles in urine mean? For a healthy person, the urinary system together with other organs in the body are responsible for balancing the level of chemical and water in the body. It is also the function of this system to remove waste product from the body in form of urine. The amount of urine you pass in a day will depend on the amount of fluid you consume.
White stuff in urine is not that serious, however, if the condition is accompanied by pain, fever and other flu like symptoms, we would recommend you have your health care provider check it out as soon as possible.
For pregnant women, white stuff in urine can be a sign of an infection or as a result eliminating protein and white leukocytes. This is often a side effect of hormonal and biological changes that often take place in preparation for the baby. To avoid any complication, it is important to have your health care provider check the condition out as soon as possible.
White particles in urine may mean different things. For a health y person, the color of the urine is often pale-yellow. The quantity and frequency of the urine will depend on your general health and the amount of urine you take. Depending on what the cause is, the white particles in urine may appear as white sediments or small bits floating in your urine.
White bits in urine NHS
Your urine contains waste product and excess fluids from your body. The amount of urine per day will depend on the amount of fluids, water included you take per day. What influences the color, smell and other characteristic of your urine will include:
- The food you take
- How healthy you are
- Certain Medication
- Amount of fluids lost through sweat
According to NHS, urinary tract infections are the common infections that can affect your bladder, your kidney and the tubes connected to them. Though common in women, anyone can get these infections. NHS adds that women are the most affected with regular experiences known as recurrent UTIs.
UTIs causing white bits n urine can be painful and uncomfortable, for most people, they can pass within a few days and can easily be treated with antibiotics.
The national health services recommend seeking medical help when the symptoms are severe or getting worse, or when the symptoms fail to improve after a few days. As mentioned, UTIs are often treated with short course antibiotics, most women are given a 3-day course of antibiotics. For men, pregnant women and in severe cases, a slightly longer course may be required.
What causes white stuff in urine?
Normally, the color, smell and general appearance of urine may vary from one person to the other depending on what they eat, drink, their health and the amount of water lost through sweating. With white stuff in urine, the urine tends to appear cloudy or murky. This can be caused by excess mucus or protein.
What causes white particles in urine may vary, according to the national health services (NHS), urinary tract infection are the most likely causes.
Possible causes of white particles, bits or stuff in urine will include the following:
1. Urinary tract infections
Urinary tract infections are common in both males and females. UTIs are a bacterial infection of the urinary tract that can cause your urine to appear cloudy or with whitish particles.
Urinary tract infection is caused by a bacterial infection of the urethra. UTIs are common in females but can also occur in males. Common symptoms of this condition include the following:
- Pain when passing urine
- Smelly urine
- Pressure in the lower abdomen
- Intense urge to urinate
- Foul smelling urine
Mil case of urinary tract infection can be treated with a course of antibiotics. For pregnant women, proper and urgent treatment may be required to reduce the risk of the infection spreading to the womb. At home, you can manage the symptoms of a urinary tract infection by drinking plenty of water, avoiding bladder irritation by avoiding tea, coffee, and spicy drinks, taking vitamin C to improve the urinary tract.
2. Kidney problems.
A complication of problem in your kidney can also cause white stuff in urine. A case example is when suffering from kidney stones. Kidney stones are hard mass formed in the kidney, they typically consist of insoluble calcium compounds.
Most of kidney issues can be shown by the following symptoms:
- Pain in sides and back of rib
- Red, pink or white urine
- Pain when urinating
- Cloudy and foul smelling urine
- Urinating more than usual
- Small amounts of urine
4. Excess protein
When suffering from kidney complications, your kidney may be unable to filter some particles in your urine. In such cases, excess protein may be discharged through the urine. This condition is referred to as proteinuria and can be caused by:
- Increased production of protein
- Inability to fully absorb protein
- A pathological damage to the glomerulus
5. Diabetes
People with diabetes have excessive amounts of blood glucose which can appear as white particles in urine. Diabetics are also proven to ketonuria, a medical condition in which excessive amounts of ketones are present in urine.
Ketones are formed during the metabolism of fat. In healthy people, ketones do not move into the urine from the blood. When suffering from diabetes, however, these particles are likely to move into the urine appearing as white particles
White stuff in male urine
In males, a common cause of white stuff in urine is retrograde ejaculation. According to Mayo clinic, retrograde ejaculation occurs when semen enters the bladder instead of emerging through the penis during orgasm. This is what is commonly known as dry orgasm. The condition is not harmful but in rare case, it could lead to male infertility.
During orgasm, the muscle at the opening of the bladder tightens to prevent ejaculation from entering the bladder as it passes from the prostate, this is the same muscle that holds urine in the bladder. With this condition, these muscles do not tighten properly as a result, sperm enters the bladder instead of being ejaculated.
Retrograde ejaculation can be caused by:
- Surgery of the bladder neck or of the prostate
- Medication side effects
- Nerve damage caused by diabetes, multiple sclerosis or an injury to the spinal cord
Retrograde ejaculation can be shown by the following symptoms:
- Very little semen during orgasm
- Cloudy urine
- White particles in urine
- Male infertility
White stuff, particles in female urine
In females, the most likely cause of white particles in urine is bacterial vaginosis, urinary tract infections, and yeast or female genital candidiasis. These are common infections, especially during pregnancy. Often times, this infection will be accompanied by unwanted symptoms such as pain, itching, irritation and foul smelling vaginal discharge.
For pregnant women, urgent treatment may be required to minimize the risk of complication to both the mother and the unborn child. Treatment may also help prevent the spread of infection, especially in sexually active females.
The causes, treatment, and symptoms of the condition are as follows.
7. Bacterial vaginosis
Bacterial vaginosis is a condition marked by the inflammation of the vagina. It is caused by the overgrowth of bacteria naturally found in the vagina. This condition can affect women at any age, it is however common during their reproductive years.
The cause of BV is not clearly known, the risk factors, however, include have unprotected sex and increased douching. The symptoms of this condition will include:
- Gray or whitish vaginal discharge
- Mild to severe itching of the vagina
- Foul smell urine and other vaginal discharge
- Pain when urinating
In mild cases, the condition may clear without treatment. Urgent treatment is however required in for pregnant women showing the signs of bacterial vaginosis. If untreated, the condition could lead to a miscarriage. In most of the cases, antibiotics are used to treat this condition.
8. Yeast infection
Vaginal yeast infection caused by the over growth of vaginal fungus is also a possible cause of white vaginal discharge in women. Yeast infection is harmless but can cause a lot of irritations and discomfort.
According to WebMD, a healthy vagina has many bacteria and a small number of yeast cells. Normally, the level of bacteria and yeast help maintain a certain balance. If something disrupts this balance, the yeast may overgrow causing unwanted symptoms. This is common during pregnancy and can be managed with antibiotics.
Vaginal yeast infections can be prevented by:
- Keeping your vagina clean and dry
- Avoid ill-fitting clothes
- Wearing underpants that help keep your groin and inner thighs dry and does not hold warmth
- Regularly changing your pad or tampon
- Avoid or limit douching
White particles in urine during pregnancy
A lot of changes often take place during pregnancy. Colored vaginal discharge is not uncommon. During pregnancy, it is common to notice white particles floating on your urine. Women are likely to contract urinary tract infections, making one of the most likely causes of the white stuff in urine.
Regardless of what the cause of the white particle in urine area, urgent medical treatment may be required to minimize the risk of the infection reaching the womb to cause any complications. According to Dr. Melinda Ratini of WebMD, UTIs which are common during pregnancy can cause pain, cloudy and smelly urine.
Though UTIs are the common cause of pain, discomfort and smelly urine during pregnancy, there are other causes that might cause white particles to appear in urine. Common ones include bacterial infections, parasitic infections, yeast infections, kidney complications among others.
Vaginal discharge during pregnancy may show the following symptoms:
- The color of the discharge may vary from yellow, dark to white
- Foul smelling urine and other discharge
- The discharge may be thick, sticky or watery
- Painful discharge
- Lower back pain
- Mild to severe itching around the vagina among others
Getting rid of the white particles in urine involves treating the underlying cause. That can only be done once your doctor has diagnosed and established what the underlying cause is.
White stringy stuff in urine
White particles in urine are not often a cause for panic. Urgent and proper medical examination and diagnosis are however required to identify and treat the underlying cause. Anybody can have stingy particles in urine, it is however common in females and pregnant women with the major cause being urinary tract infections according to the national health services.
There are many reasons one can have white stuff in urine. It is therefore very critical that you have your health care provider check on you as soon as possible. White particles in urine is a symptom of an underlying cause.
The symptoms and characteristic of the urine will, therefore, be of the underlying cause and may end to vary from one person to the other depending on what the underlying cause is.
With white stringy stuff in urine, you will expect to notice some of the following symptoms:
- Lower back pain in cases of kidney stones
- Painful urination
- Pain in the groin
- Nausea and vomiting
- Smelly or cloudy urine
- Increased amount of vaginal discharge in women
- Itching around the vagina
White stringy particles, stuff in female’s urine
Women are more likely to have white particles in their urine than men. As mentioned, the common cause is often urinary tract infections, there are other causes some of which are serious and others, not that serious.
For UTIs and other bacterial infections causing the stingy particles in urine, a 3-day course of antibiotics is often used. In severe cases, it is often unlikely that the condition will clear or stop immediately. The same treatment is also given for pregnant women.
For both males and females, there are some ways you can lessen or manage white particles at home. This in cases of UTIs will help improve the symptoms. You can do the following:
- If the infection occurs during your monthly cycle, use a pad instead of a tampon to lessen the irritation
- Avoid douching, this flushes out the good bacteria inside the vagina, this may worsen some vaginal infections
- Only use underwear’s made of cotton
- You need to keep your groin dry and clean
- Avoid ill-fitting clothes that can worsen the symptoms
- You also need to ensure you maintain a proper diet to keep your blood sugar low
White stuff, specks or particles in urine – when to see a doctor
Urgent medical diagnosis is often recommended to try and establish what the underlying cause of white particle in urine is. It is not that easy to identify the cause at home, that is why proper medical diagnosis is required.
As mentioned, the symptoms accompanying the white particles in urine will often vary depending on the cause. You should see you, doctor, if:
- The symptoms fail to improve
- The symptoms seem to be getting severe and unbearable
- When pregnant or
- There are some risk you might infect others
Your doctor will perform some test to try ad indent what the underlying cause of the infection is. This can be done using a urine ketone test or urine dipstick test. In other cases, your health care provider may perform a biopsy of the kidney, this is common if the patient shows signs of high levels of protein in the urine.
Treating the underlying cause of the white particles in urine is the best way to get rid of the particles or debris in urine. For instance, when the underlying cause is a bacterial infection, a course of antibiotics may be used to clear the infection. When however the cause is a serious kidney infection, your doctor may recommend surgery to try and fix the problem.
There are some preventive measure that one can adopt. Maintaining a healthy diet, and excessing on a regular basis are some of the ways you can keep your immune system active and able to fight off infections that might result in white sediments in your urine.
You need to:
- Drinking plenty of water and fluids (not alcohol)
- Excessing regularly
- Maintain balanced diet (check your cholesterol)
- Eat plenty of fruits and vegetables
- Schedule regular appointments with your health care provider
Sources and references:
- http://www.healthyandnaturalworld.com/particles-in-urine/
- http://www.nhs.uk/conditions/Urinary-tract-infection-adults/Pages/Introduction.aspx
- https://hubpages.com/health/white-stuff-in-urine
- https://www.enkiverywell.com/white-stuff-in-urine.html
- http://health-benefits-of.net/particles-in-urine
