What It Means When Your Pee Feels Hot

If your doctor has ever requested a pee sample from you, then you're familiar with the slightly awkward process of aiming your urine stream into a small, sterile cup that you will then turn over to your healthcare provider for urinalysis.

After you've done your business and you're ready to hand over your sample, you likely noticed the cup felt warm to the touch. This is because the temperature of our urine sits pretty close to the average temperature of the human body: 98.6 degrees Fahrenheit. This can vary, however, according to 2018 research published in Federal Practitioner, which outlines how a healthy urine sample should have a temperature reading between 90 degrees and 100 degrees Fahrenheit during the first 4 minutes following urination. If you're in a particularly cold environment, it's also not unusual to see pee giving off steam, reports Medical News Today. What may not be so normal, however, is if one's urine becomes exceptionally hot.

While not cause for concern, one reason your pee may feel particularly hot as it's expelled from the body is perhaps because you just gave it your all during a workout, which can boost internal body temperature, explains Healthline. One's internal body temperature may also be higher throughout pregnancy, during which time the body's metabolism naturally speeds up.

A 2012 study published in the International Journal of Biometeorology found that because urine temperature can provide us with a fairly accurate read on body temperature, urine temperature measurements may be an effective way to gauge heat stroke or hypothermia risk in workers whose jobs involve manual labor in particularly hot or cold environments. Alternatively, if your pee feels excessively hot, it may mean that you have a fever. If you're unsure how high your body temperature must be to qualify as a fever, we've answered that question for you. For adults, if a fever exceeds 103 degrees Fahrenheit, or you have a stubborn fever of at least 101 degrees Fahrenheit that persists for longer than a week or two, be sure to contact your physician.

While not exactly the same as pee that feels physically hot to the touch, a burning sensation that strikes during urination may mean that you've developed an infection, such as a urinary tract infection (UTI) or sexually transmitted infection (STI), reports Healthline. Gonorrhea and chlamydia are two such STIs that have been associated with this uncomfortable sensation. Individuals with a chronic condition known as interstitial cystitis may also experience burning sensations when peeing or feel that their urine is excessively hot.

For people with vaginas, if you develop a yeast infection, bacterial vaginosis, or vaginitis, it may also feel like it burns when you pee, and urine may feel hotter than normal (via Medical News Today). The same may also be true for people with a penis in cases of prostatitis or epididymitis. To help determine the cause and a potential treatment plan, talk to your healthcare provider if the temperature of your pee has become unusually hot or if it burns as you urinate, particularly if your pee has developed an unpleasant odor or if your number of bathroom trips has increased. In the event of back pain, high fever, or continuous vomiting, seek urgent medical care.