White sediment in the urine is a sign of a pathological condition of the kidney tissue or other organs of the urinary system. In addition to this symptom, during urination there is a feeling of burning, itching, and in some cases, cutting inside the urethra.
In this situation, it is necessary to seek medical help from a urologist or nephrologist as quickly as possible, especially if there is pain in the lumbar region from the side of the kidneys.
When sediment is normal
In some situations, cloudy urine has nothing to do with physiological phenomena. The following factors may cause changes:
- When the temperature drops and comes into contact with air, normal urine will become cloudy in just a few hours. The appearance of sediment in this case is inevitable. Therefore, the material must be sent to the laboratory within one and a half hours after collection.
- Non-sterile container for analysis - to get an accurate result, it is better to use specialized pharmacy containers.
- Improper collection of liquid may result in foreign impurities getting into the dishes. To prevent this, careful hygiene of the genital organs is necessary before collection.
Normal urine is clear, ranging in color from pale straw to bright yellow.
Normal urine is clear, ranging in color from pale straw to bright yellow, without inclusions or flakes. Sometimes deviations are possible that occur even in a healthy person. Among the main reasons for the appearance of sediment in the urine in women are:
- taking certain vitamins - urine becomes bright yellow, orange and loses its transparency;
- frequent consumption of protein foods - the liquid becomes denser and cloudier;
- insufficient amount of water or increased physical activity - they lead to dehydration and make the color of urine dark;
- drinking alcoholic beverages.
Long-term use of medications can also affect the color of urine. These could be antibiotics, laxatives, aspirin. If, after adjusting the menu or stopping medications, the urine does not acquire a normal color, you need to go to a urologist and undergo the necessary examinations.
Etiological factors
The etiological causes of white flakes in the urine in men and women include:
Only the attending physician can determine exactly why white formations appeared in the urine after carrying out all the diagnostics. Self-medication in this case is prohibited, as this can cause complications.
Cloudy urine as a symptom of the disease
Not everyone knows what it is when a white sediment appears in the urine. If such a symptom is observed for a long time, accompanied by pain and high temperature, a thorough analysis in the laboratory will be required. Urine is formed in the kidneys, passes through the ureters to the bladder and comes out. Diseases of these organs lead to clouding. A precipitate may appear when the amount of certain compounds increases:
- Red blood cells - if there are a lot of red blood cells, various ailments are possible: from inflammation to kidney cancer. In the first stages, a pink sediment is observed in the urine; with significant damage, it becomes red-burgundy.
- Accumulation of salts - appears as white flakes after the sample has settled. To solve the problem, you need to determine the type of salts, determine the causes of the disorders and undergo treatment.
- An increase in protein levels is observed in various diseases affecting internal organs, as well as systemic disorders accompanied by the destruction of proteins.
- Fat stains on the surface of urine are characteristic of bone fractures leading to renal embolism.
- A significant number of bacteria and infection products - damaged epithelial cells, toxins, mucus.
Urine in which sediment appears does not only indicate problems with the urinary tract. Sexual infections, which mainly occur in the vagina, also change the color and consistency of urine.
Types of impurities
The urine sediment contains single cells of squamous and renal epithelium. The following types are distinguished:
- organized urine sediment (accompanied by a large discharge of cylinders, red blood cells, leukocytes, epithelium);
- unorganized urine sediment (salts in urine).
Unorganized sediments appear in the urine when the body's water balance is disturbed.
The degree of alkaline urine affects cloudiness and precipitation. Alkaline urine (at a pH level greater than 6.8) contains phosphate salts and calcium sulfate, which precipitate. Also, intoxication, deterioration of kidney function, and the presence of infectious diseases are not very rare causes of formations in urine. Unorganized sediment is formed due to an imbalance in water balance. Impaired metabolism with alkaptonuria or melanosarcoma provokes black shades of urine.
Impurities are released when:
- the presence of a high content of salts (phosphates, urates, oxalates), which changes the alkalinity of the discharge - crystalline appearance of sediment;
- the presence of organic compounds (protein is present in the urine, secreted by the epithelium in the urethra) - organic appearance;
- a strong and unpleasant smell of urine when urinating, a feeling of severe pain and itching - a sediment of leukocytes resembles the shape of clouds (in the form of flakes) or large mucopurulent appearances, excreted with blood when urinating and indicate pathology.
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Clinical manifestations
Symptoms in each specific case depend on the underlying cause. Sometimes cloudy urine is not accompanied by other manifestations, but this does not mean that there is no pathology.
Infections and inflammation
A white precipitate is characteristic of infectious and inflammatory diseases affecting the genitourinary organs. In this situation, the appearance of unpleasant symptoms is inevitable:
- pain and burning during bowel movements;
- nagging pain in the lower abdomen;
- frequent urge to go to the toilet;
- itching of the genitals;
- vaginal discharge that is yellow or white;
- heaviness in the right hypochondrium;
- weakness, deterioration in performance.
Infectious diseases are characterized by pain and burning during bowel movements.
Sexually transmitted diseases
Turbidity of urine and the appearance of sediment in women is possible when infected with sexually transmitted infections. Additional signs include:
- inflammation of the lymph nodes located in the groin area;
- rashes, formation of ulcers and erosions;
- the presence of unclear discharge from white to yellow;
- low-grade fever;
- decreased sexual desire;
- discomfort during intimacy;
- disruptions of the menstrual cycle.
Turbidity in urine in women is possible due to sexually transmitted infections
Kidney tuberculosis
One of the symptoms of the disease is the appearance of white impurities in the urine. In addition, the patient may complain of:
- disruption of urine outflow;
- renal colic;
- periodic increase in body temperature;
- the appearance of blood in the urine;
- high pressure.
With kidney tuberculosis, white impurities appear in the urine
Most often, the pathology occurs for a long time without any manifestations, and sediment and change in urine color are the only symptoms.
Health-hazardous changes
It happens that the problem lies much deeper than the patient suspects. In some cases, the duration of the examination is about one week. Once the necessary information is collected, the specialist names the reasons. They are divided into natural and pathological. If in the first case there is no need to take significant actions, then in the second it is important to develop an optimal therapeutic course.
Causes for concern will be general weakness, fever and pain. All this suggests the following possible reasons:
- Prolonged exposure to the open air. No matter how strange it may sound, increased oxygen concentration and low temperature are components of urological pathology. The pathology is eliminated conservatively.
- Increased thermal stress on the body, for example, addiction to saunas, steam baths, or simply prolonged exposure to the scorching sun. As a result of the influence of these factors, cloudy urine appears.
- The activity of pathological microorganisms is accompanied by the appearance of mucus, fever and pain.
- An inflammatory or infectious process localized in the genitourinary system. It develops quite quickly and is treated with drug therapy.
- The initial form of prostatitis negatively affects the physical and chemical parameters of urine.
- Urolithiasis disease. A change in the color and smell of urine will help you promptly seek qualified medical help. If everything is done quickly enough, the course of treatment is exclusively conservative.
- Urethritis or kidney failure is a formidable enemy that requires immediate medical intervention. The disease is diagnosed quickly enough, so the prognosis is positive.
- Infectious cystitis provokes the appearance of cloudy urine mixed with flakes. Within 2-4 days, the infection from the bladder migrates to the kidneys, where it poses a great danger. That is why anti-inflammatory therapy must be started as quickly as possible.
There are a number of other reasons that can negatively affect the healthy color of the secreted fluid.
Cloudy urine during pregnancy
During the period of bearing a child, a woman regularly undergoes tests that allow her to monitor her well-being and kidney function. Even a healthy girl can have problems, so this measure is more than necessary. Significant load on the kidneys inevitably affects the color and clarity of urine. Hormonal fluctuations also affect these indicators. The absence of alarming symptoms and the short duration of turbidity are considered normal, since the level of salts and the number of leukocytes in the urine of a pregnant woman change very quickly.
Toxicosis, which is accompanied by the appearance of a white sediment in the urine and vomiting, should cause alarm. It leads to severe dehydration and potassium deficiency. Since almost all medications are prohibited during pregnancy, doctors are trying to solve the problem by adjusting the diet and habitual rhythm of life.
Significant load on the kidneys inevitably affects the color and clarity of urine
Urogenital infections are very dangerous for the expectant mother, as they threaten not only her, but also the baby. Therefore, cloudy urine, the detection of sediment and flakes in it is a reason to visit a doctor and undergo a comprehensive examination.
Which doctor should I contact?
Self-medication during pregnancy can cause irreversible consequences not only for the mother’s body, but also for the fetus. That is why diagnosis and therapy are a task for a competent specialist. If a pregnant woman notices cloudy urine, she needs to go to the clinic. Treatment, depending on the causes of this symptom, can be carried out by a gynecologist, therapist or nephrologist.
It is often used to treat pyelonephritis. You should not refuse treatment, because the pathological process occurring in a woman’s body can harm the baby much more than antibiotics.
Residue after illness
During the treatment of various pathologies, urine allows you to control the functioning of the body. An increased number of proteins, red blood cells, leukocytes and salts indicates the stage of the disease and reflects its severity. The table shows the tone of urine in various diseases:
Express home analysis
Urine is MOST accessible for research at home. Its qualitative changes (unusual color and smell, pathological inclusions, such as pus or blood) are easy to see without any instruments, as they say, with the naked eye.
To carry out the analysis in the morning, immediately after sleep, you need to collect 100-200 ml of urine in a clean glass container and examine it carefully. Why is morning urine necessary? The fact is that before midnight urine comes “from food,” and after midnight it comes “from illness.”
First of all, you need to pay attention to the color of your urine. It depends on its quantity and on the removal of the pigments urobilin and urochrome - products of the conversion of bilirubin. A healthy person's urine is light yellow.
Some foods (tea, coffee, vodka, a number of vegetables) change the color of urine. Beetroot, for example, turns it red. Therefore, in order not to be mistaken with your conclusions, you should not consume “coloring” products in the evening.
In addition to food, some medications also affect the color of urine
Dry eating and increased sweating also change the color of urine - it becomes intensely yellow. With plenty of drinking, it becomes light again.
In all other cases, a change in the color of urine may be a manifestation of one or another disease. So, dark yellow, brown (the color of beer) or greenish color of fresh urine indicates a dysfunction of the liver and gall bladder, whitish - about the accumulation of a large amount of mucus in the body, black or rainbow - about the presence of toxic substances in the body and its poisoning, red – about the presence of blood in the urine.
Treatment
Prescribing therapeutic measures is possible only after establishing the exact cause of the disorders.
Therapy is carried out using various methods. To eliminate the main provoking factor, medications such as:
- antibiotics;
- non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs;
- painkillers;
- angioprotectors;
- immunomodulators.
In addition, the patient is advised to follow a diet and drinking regime. Alcohol and cigarettes are strictly prohibited. If you contact a specialist in a timely manner, you can quickly solve the problem and avoid the development of serious complications.
What is the essence of the problem?
Normal human urine is light, yellow in color and smells slightly of ammonia. When a sediment forms in the urine, this is the first sign of the development of the disease.
The ingredients are salts, minerals and components that the liver processes. The number of urinations indicates how much liquid a person has consumed per day and foods with a lot of protein. The appearance of precipitation is affected by constant standing and the presence of salts in the water consumed. Mucus, which is secreted in increased volume by internal organs, can also influence the occurrence of deviations.
Prevention
To prevent cloudy urine and the formation of a white sediment, you need to follow simple recommendations:
- Adjust your diet – you should eat only healthy foods.
- Give up all bad habits.
- Treat any diseases in a timely manner.
- Avoid hypothermia.
- Take medications only on the recommendation of a doctor.
- Regularly undergo preventive examinations in order to detect possible pathologies in time.
White sediment in urine is not a disease, but a symptom. Its appearance is a reason to consult a doctor and undergo an examination. A qualified specialist will help determine the cause of the problem and quickly eliminate it.
Diagnostics
If such a symptom is present in men or women, you may need to consult the following specialists:
- urologist or gynecologist;
- nephrologist;
- infectious disease specialist
First of all, a physical examination of the patient is carried out, with the collection of a general history. Also during the initial examination, the doctor should find out the following:
- what additional symptoms are present, and how long ago the clinical picture began to manifest itself;
- if the patient has a history of chronic diseases, especially with regard to the genitourinary system;
- whether the patient is currently undergoing treatment and what medications he is taking.
It is important that if the patient takes any medications at his own discretion, without a doctor’s prescription, the clinician should be notified about this before starting diagnostic measures.
To establish the etiological factor, the following laboratory and instrumental diagnostic methods can be used:
- general clinical analysis of blood and urine;
- blood chemistry;
- Ultrasound of the genitourinary system and abdominal organs;
- radionuclide study of the kidneys;
- urine analysis according to Nechiporenko;
- Kakovsky-Addis test;
- orthostatic test.
Based on the results of the examination, a qualified doctor can determine why a person has such a clinical manifestation.
