Written byPaul Frish
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You drink too much water
1/17
It's not just in pure H2O. You get 20-30% of your water from food and more from other drinks. It may seem obvious, but too much water makes you pee more. It can lower the salt in your blood to unhealthy levels. Follow the "Goldilocks" rule: Drink enough to keep your urine clear or pale yellow, but not so much that you spend all day in the bathroom.
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Urinary tract infection
2/17
It is the most common cause of frequent urination. Bacteria infect your kidneys, bladder, or the tubes that connect them to each other and to the outside world. Your bladder swells and can't hold as much urine, which can be cloudy, bloody, or smell strange. You may also experience fever, chills, nausea, and pain in the side or lower abdomen. Your doctor will likely prescribe antibiotics to get rid of the infection.
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Diabetes mellitus)
3/17
Both type 1 and type 2 increase your blood sugar levels. Your kidneys try to filter it out, but they can't always keep up. The sugar therefore ends up in your urine. This removes more water from your body and causes you to urinate more. The frequent urge to walk is one of the first and most common symptoms of diabetes. Contact your doctor if you suddenly start urinating more than normal.
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Diabetes insipidus
4/17
This is a different condition than type 1 or type 2 diabetes. Here, your body can't use or doesn't make enough vasopressin, a hormone that normally tells your kidneys to release water into your blood when you need it. You may feel tired, nauseous, confused and very thirsty. You may also urinate as much as 15 liters a day, or five times more than normal. Your doctor can help you control this with medications.
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Diuretic
5/17
These medications, also known as water pills, treat high blood pressure and liver and kidney problems. They cause your kidneys to release more salt (sodium) into your urine, causing you to urinate more. This can cause you to lose too much sodium and potassium, which can be bad for your health. You may feel dizzy, achy and nauseous. Contact your doctor before stopping or changing your dose.
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Painful bladder syndrome
6/17
You may feel like you have to go all the time, but not much flows out. You may also have pain in your lower abdomen that gets worse when you urinate or have sex. It seems to happen when your bladder tissue becomes swollen and very tender. It is not always clear what the cause is. You can treat this condition, also called interstitial cystitis, with diet and exercise, medication, surgery, and physical therapy.
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Kidney stones
7/17
Minerals and salts can form small stones in your kidney. You usually feel like you have to go often, but you don't urinate much. You may also experience nausea, fever, chills, and severe pain in your side and back that radiates in waves to your groin. Extra weight, dehydration, high-protein diets and family history make this more likely. The stones may go away on their own, or you may need surgery.
Pregnancy
8/17
As your baby grows in your belly, it fills and puts pressure on your bladder, making you want to go faster. But even before that, when your baby was an embryo implanted in your uterus, it caused your body to produce a pregnancy hormone called human chorionic gonadotropin, which makes you urinate more. Contact your doctor if it hurts when you urinate or if you see blood in your urine.
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Snails
9/17
It sometimes damages the nerves that control your bladder. You may want to go more often, but you shouldn't pee a lot. Or you can spray a lot of urine. Parkinson's, multiple sclerosis and other brain diseases can have similar effects. Your doctor can help you change your eating and toileting habits to reduce symptoms. In severe cases, you may need medication or surgery.
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Vaginitis
10/17
This is when your vagin* becomes infected and inflamed due to yeast, bacteria, viruses, medications, or hormonal changes. It can also happen from chemicals in creams, sprays or clothing. You may itch or burn when you urinate and have pain during sex. You may also notice a discharge and an odor and feel like you need to urinate more often.
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Too much alcohol or caffeine
11/17
They can act as a diuretic and flush more water out of you. They also slow your body's production of vasopressin, a hormone that normally tells your kidneys to release more water into your body instead of sending it straight to your bladder. It's a good idea to drink water with your co*cktail, beer or wine. Although the effects of caffeine can be serious, it takes much more coffee to have the same effect as alcohol.
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Weak pelvis
12/17
It is the area of your lower abdomen. When the muscles become stretched and weak, which can happen during pregnancy and childbirth, the bladder can move out of position. Or your urethra, the tube through which you urinate, may be stretched. Both can make you pee.
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Menopause
13/17
This is the time when a woman stops menstruating, around age 50. Your body produces less of the hormone estrogen, which makes you want to urinate more often. Your doctor may be able to help you with hormone therapy, diet changes, and other treatments.
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Tumor
14/17
Both cancerous and benign tumors can cause you to urinate more because they take up more space in or around your bladder. Blood in your urine is the most important sign when it comes to cancer. Contact your doctor if you see blood, notice a lump in your stomach, or notice that it hurts to urinate.
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Prostate
15/17
Men have a walnut-sized gland called the prostate, which can enlarge after the age of 25. An enlarged prostate can make your urine flow feel weak and irregular. You may feel like you need to walk more, sometimes urgently. In rare cases, this can be a sign of more serious conditions such as cancer. Your doctor can help you rule out other causes and treat your enlarged prostate.
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Constipation
16/17
If you have not urinated for a while (constipation), your bowel may become so full that it presses against your bladder and you may feel like you have to urinate more often or very poorly. Constipation can add to the problem by weakening your pelvic floor muscles, which keeps your bowels and bladder under control. Talk to your doctor or pharmacist about how to get back to normal.
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Sleep apnea
17/17
Sleep apnea interrupts your breathing for short periods of time and involves multiple trips to the bathroom in the middle of the night to urinate. Nocturia, the condition where you wake up one or more times a night to go to the toilet, is much more common in people with obstructive sleep apnea.