Foamy Urine Causes

Urine is the pale yellow to amber-colored, waste product formed in the kidneys and excreted from the body via the urethra. It is a solution, full of metabolic wastes (often toxic) that have been filtered from the plasma. Urine exiting the kidney comprises urea, uric acid, water, ammonia, inorganic salts and broken down blood pigments. Thus, by formation of urine, the body is actually getting rid of all the toxic waste materials, whose retention could prove detrimental to the body. Normally, on urinating, one will not find any bubbles or foam, however, sometimes after urination foamy urine may be present in the toilet bowl. Read more on bubbles in urine.

Foamy Urine Causes

Rapid Urination
Foamy urine can be caused by rapid urination. At times, when you delay going to the washroom, large amounts of urine gets collected in the bladder. Finally when you do urinate, you may end up urinating forcefully, in an attempt to let it all out as fast as possible. This causes the urine stream to hit the toilet bowl rapidly, thereby spearheading foam formation. Moreover, low amounts of fluid intake results in formation of concentrated urine, which also leads to foamy urine. Foamy urine caused by forceful urination or dehydration is not deleterious. However, try emptying your bladder with less force and drink lots of water. Check if the foam persists. If it persists, the underlying reason may be something else.

Proteinuria
Proteinuria or presence of significant amounts of protein in the urine, is one of the most common foamy urine causes. A small amount of protein is naturally excreted in our urine. However, when this small amount turns to large amounts, the condition is called proteinuria. The responsibility to regulate protein levels in the urine lies with the glomeruli of the kidneys. Times when the glomeruli get infected or damaged and are unable to prevent protein from leaving the body in the urine, proteinuria occurs. When the protein from the urine hits the toilet bowl after urination, foamy urine is produced. This can be confirmed by doing a urinalysis.

Excess amounts of protein may be found in urine even if a person has eaten large amounts of chicken, fish or other high protein food items. If the body does not break down the protein efficiently, the protein ingested will be passed out through the urine, thereby making it foamy. Moreover, people taking protein supplements may also end up with protein in their urine. Thus, in such cases, one must stop eating high protein food items and supplements and check if the condition persists.

Urinary Tract Infection (UTI)
When microorganisms attack the urinary tract, urinary tract infection is caused. Foamy urine symptoms are one of the symptoms of UTI and is mostly accompanied by burning sensation. The infection-triggering microorganism causes the foam in the urine.

Vesicocolic Fistula
Situations where a vesicocolic fistula or abnormal connection is formed between the colon and the urinary tract, an edema is formed at the base of the urinary bladder. The fluid gets accumulated under the skin and foam is produced. On urination, this foam produced in the bladder is released. However, foamy urine due to vesicocolic fistula can be an indicator for grave medical conditions like tumors, Crohn's disease, etc.

Presence of Semen
The presence of semen in the urine released from the body, can result in foamy urine. Usually after intercourse, small amounts of semen gets left behind in the urethra. However, this amount is insignificant and cannot lead to foamy urine. On the other hand, it happens in the case of retrograde ejaculation (bladder sphincter not functioning properly), wherein the semen is forced into the urinary bladder. This may now result in foamy urine.

People with diabetes and kidney stones may also experience foamy urine after urination. To find out what exactly is causing the foamy urine, you need to consult the medical practitioner, who will ask you to go for a dipstick test. This test will check if the foam is being caused by too much protein in urine. A simple urinalysis would also do. Usually for urine testing, sample of urine is collected for 24 hours and sent for testing for accurate results. The test will identify which one of these foamy urine causes is relevant to you.