Why do I pee so often? (2024)

Why do I pee so often? (1)
Medically assessed byNazia Q Bandukwala, DOon 27 November 2022

Written byPaul Frish

Why do I pee so often? (2)

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.

Why do I pee so often? (3)

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.

Why do I pee so often? (4)

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.

Why do I pee so often? (5)

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.

Why do I pee so often? (6)

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.

Why do I pee so often? (7)

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.

Why do I pee so often? (8)

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.

Why do I pee so often? (10)

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.

Why do I pee so often? (11)

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.

Why do I pee so often? (12)

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.

Why do I pee so often? (13)

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.

Why do I pee so often? (14)

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.

Why do I pee so often? (15)

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.

Why do I pee so often? (16)

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.

Why do I pee so often? (17)

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.

Why do I pee so often? (18)

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.

Why do I pee so often? (2024)

FAQs

Why do I pee so often? ›

Overactive bladder is a collection of symptoms that may affect how often you pee and your urgency. Causes include abdominal trauma, infection, nerve damage, medications and certain fluids. Treatment includes changing certain behaviors, medications and nerve stimulation.

Why do I have to pee so much so often? ›

You may pass urine more often than usual because of: Infection, disease, injury or irritation of the bladder. A condition that causes your body to make more urine. Changes in muscles, nerves or other tissues that affect how the bladder works.

Why do I pee so much even when I don't drink anything? ›

Urge incontinence occurs when an overactive bladder spasms or contracts at the wrong times. You may leak urine when you sleep or feel the need to pee after drinking a little water, even though you know your bladder isn't full.

What to do to stop peeing so much? ›

Home remedies for frequent urination

Cutting back on alcohol, caffeine, artificial sweeteners and acidic foods or beverages. Doing pelvic floor exercises (like Kegels) to help build your pelvic muscle strength and health. Trying bladder retraining techniques, such as peeing at fixed intervals that gradually increase.

Why do I hold so much pee? ›

An enlarged prostate, weakened bladder muscles, or nerve damage in the urinary system may block the flow of urine or cause the body to retain it. People with kidney disorders may also want to avoid holding in pee, to prevent possible complications.

Why do I have to pee right after I pee? ›

Needing to urinate right after you've just gone isn't only annoying, but it can also be a sign of an underlying health problem. While this is commonly related to drinking a lot of water or taking medication, sometimes feeling like you always have to pee could mean something more serious like an infection or diabetes.

Why do I feel like I have to pee after I already peed? ›

Vesical tenesmus. The feeling of frequently needing to pee even after you've just peed is caused by constantly activated peeing muscles. These muscles might be responding to residual pee left in your bladder. Or they might be overreacting to irritated nerves in your urinary tract if you have an inflammatory condition.

What are the 5 warning signs of bladder? ›

Bladder Cancer: Symptoms and Signs
  • Blood or blood clots in the urine.
  • Pain or burning sensation during urination.
  • Frequent urination.
  • Feeling the need to urinate many times throughout the night.
  • Feeling the need to urinate, but not being able to pass urine.
  • Lower back pain on 1 side of the body.

Is it bad if your peeing alot? ›

It can be a symptom of pregnancy or a urinary tract infection, or more serious or long-lasting conditions like diabetes, overactive bladder or prostate issues. In many cases, your healthcare provider can help relieve frequent peeing by treating the underlying condition.

How much peeing is too much? ›

An excessive volume of urination for an adult is more than 2.5 liters (about 67 fluid ounces or about 2.6 quarts) of urine per day. However, this can vary depending on how much water you drink and what your total body water is. This problem is different from needing to urinate often.

What over the counter medicine will stop frequent urination? ›

Oxytrol for women is the only drug available over the counter. Overall, these drugs work about the same in treating overactive bladder, and generally, people tolerate all of them well.

Should we drink water immediately after urinating? ›

Its fine if you drink water just after urination but you can also have water whenever you feel like drinking it. Suggestions offered by doctors on Lybrate are of advisory nature i.e., for educational and informational purposes only.

How do I train myself to pee less often? ›

Try bladder training
  1. Find the pattern. Keep a diary for a few days. Jot down every time you urinate. ...
  2. Wait longer before urinating. Your bladder diary can tell you how long you wait between urinating. Add on 15 minutes. ...
  3. Stick to the schedule. Once you've made a schedule, do your best to stick to it.

Is it better to pee often or hold it? ›

Use the bathroom often and when needed.

Try to urinate at least once every 3 to 4 hours. Holding urine in your bladder for too long can weaken your bladder muscles and make a bladder infection more likely.

Why is my pee clear but I don't drink water? ›

Key takeaways: Clear pee is most often a result of drinking a lot of water. But, in some cases, it can be a sign of an underlying health condition. In addition to overhydration, the most common causes of clear urine include kidney issues, diabetes, diabetes insipidus, medications, and pregnancy.

Why do I pee so much at night but not during the day? ›

Drinking too much fluid during the evening can cause you to urinate more often during the night. Caffeine and alcohol with or after dinner can also lead to this problem. Other common causes of urination at night include: Infection of the bladder or urinary tract.

Is it normal to pee every 30 minutes? ›

A normal amount to pee through the day is, on average, 7 to 8 times a day. If you are going more than that, or you need to go every 30 minutes, then you might be frequently urinating. However, other factors, such as medication or the volume of water you are drinking, should also be taken into consideration.

What if I pee 15 times a day? ›

Peeing frequently is often the result of drinking too much fluid but can indicate conditions such as urethritis or urinary tract infections. Urinating is how the body removes waste fluids. Urine –– which contains water, uric acid, urea, and toxins –– stays in the bladder until it reaches a point of fullness.

Why do I feel like I have to pee every 5 minutes? ›

Overactive bladder is a collection of symptoms that may affect how often you pee and your urgency. Causes include abdominal trauma, infection, nerve damage, medications and certain fluids. Treatment includes changing certain behaviors, medications and nerve stimulation.

Why do I have to pee so much after drinking water? ›

Because the bladder can only hold so much fluid volume, increasing water intake will increase the frequency of urination, and may make people with an overactive bladder more likely to leak. If you have overactive bladder (OAB), more fluid intake typically equals more trips to the bathroom.

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