Why Do I Urinate So Much?
How often you should urinate and what it means for your health are more important than you think. If you have the overwhelming urge to go to the bathroom multiple times a day, it can be a source of embarrassment and frustration that affects your everyday life.
Frequent urination and overactive bladder are blanket terms for this problem, which is often related to other conditions. It affects both sexes, but women are more likely to deal with it — 40% of women experience frequent urination, compared with 30% of men.
Understanding why you’re going to the bathroom so much can help determine what underlying problem might be at work.
If you’re dealing with an overactive bladder, help is available. Dr. Neeraj Kohli of BostonUrogyn offers patients in the Boston, Massachusetts, area expert care for their urological needs.
Things that affect how often you urinate
If you’re in good health, you may go to the bathroom 4-10 times a day (with 6-7 times being average). But even for healthy people, many things can affect urinary frequency, such as:
Pregnancy (during and weeks after giving birth)
Age
How much you drink
Bladder size
Medications
Alcohol and caffeine can affect urinary frequency because they have diuretic effects, meaning they increase the amount of water and salt in the body and produce more urine. This includes coffee, tea, soda, energy drinks, and hot chocolate.
Conditions that cause frequent urination
Excessive urinating can be a symptom of many conditions, including:
Urinary tract infection (UTI)
A UTI results from bacteria getting into the bladder through the urethra. It happens often enough to affect 50%-60% of women at least once, and 33% of women experience it by age 24.
Bladder or kidney stones
Deposits of salt and minerals can build up in your kidneys (kidney stones) and move into your bladder (bladder stones). Causes include a poor diet, obesity, dehydration, and family history.
Kidney stones are associated more with painful or difficult urination; bladder stones can cause frequent night urination.
Diabetes
Men and women with undiagnosed diabetes experience frequent urination as a symptom, along with increased thirst and hunger, irritability, blurred vision, and nausea.
Interstitial cystitis
This complicated condition inflames the bladder muscle layers. The result can include pelvic or abdominal pain, urinary incontinence, and frequent urination.
Sexually transmitted disease (STI)
Infections of the bladder caused by chlamydia or gonorrhea can cause the immediate urge to empty your bladder, along with many other unpleasant symptoms.
Methods of treatment
Treatment varies depending on the underlying cause. Antibiotics can help if your frequent urination is caused by infection, while anticholinergic medications (which block neurotransmitters) can reduce the spasms in an overactive bladder.
Diabetes causes can be treated with diet and lifestyle changes, along with medications to help control blood sugar. Kegel exercises, which train the pelvic floor muscles to function normally, can also help with bladder issues.
Having to urinate frequently can be an embarrassing, frustrating problem. To learn more about your options to fix the problem, make an appointment with Dr. Kohli and BostonUrogyn today.
Call one of our Boston area locations, including Wellesley and South Weymouth, Massachusetts, or book your visit online.
