When to Call Your Doctor About Cloudy Urine

By: Rachel Mork

If you're concerned because you've been excreting clouding urine, you should definitely make an appointment with a doctor. While cloudy urine can be a result of insignificant conditions, there are many serious medical conditions for which cloudy urine is one of numerous potential symptoms. It will be difficult to determine if your cloudy urine is linked to a serious or insignificant cause without a doctor's diagnosis and a urine test.

Insignificant causes of cloudy urine
Cloudy urine can be the result of ingesting particular foods, vitamins, supplements, or beverages. It can also be caused by vaginal secretions during intercourse. You may want to try varying your diet or vitamin/supplement intake and see if that clears up your urine, and you may want to relax if you're only seeing cloudy urine immediately after sexual intercourse. These are common causes of urine changes that are not worth worrying about.

Minor medical conditions that cause cloudy urine
Too often a man will see cloudy urine because he has an underlying medical condition that is not yet being treated. Cystitis, for example, is a type of bladder infection often characterized by cloudy urine. If left untreated, cystitis can lead to kidney infections or urethritis, both of which are serious medical conditions. You could also have a urinary tract infection, which is treated much like a bladder or kidney infection. Prostatitis is an infection of the prostate that causes painful urination.

Serious medical conditions that cause cloudy urine
Cloudy urine can also be a symptom of gonorrhea, bilharzia or a kidney infection. Gonorrhea, if untreated, may result in epididymitis, a painful, unpleasant condition affecting the testicles which can lead to infertility. Gonorrhea can also negatively affect joint and blood health, causing serious health complications. Bilharzia is a parasitic disease rarely found in the United States that can cause intestinal and bladder complications. Kidney infections can be very serious if untreated, since the kidneys are essential blood-filtering organs.

The bottom line is that you'll want to get a urine test performed if you observe cloudy urine for more than a day or two. The reasons listed above are significant enough that you should get to the doctor and get that urine test taken before any serious damage is done to your body. 

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