Do you have to urinate often? This can simply be because you have had a lot to drink, but it can also have other causes. We list which these could be.
Place
Normally, people urinate 6 to 7 times a day. Often 1 time of this is at night. But you may have to urinate much more often and suddenly very urgently. If so, there could be several causes. We list them below.
- An overactive bladder.
- Drink lots of drinks with caffeine or alcohol.
- Pregnancy
- Age
- A bladder infection
- Drinking too much
- Medicines such as water pills
- Stress
- Diabetes insipidus
- A tumor
Also read: This makes you need to urinate more often in cold weather
Overactive bladder
An overactive bladder may be the reason you need to urinate often. The medical website Thuisarts.nl, an initiative of the Dutch College of General Practitioners, states that an overactive bladder makes the bladder extra irritable. This is because the bladder contracts if it is not yet completely full. But your brain does get a signal that you need to go to the toilet. So the bladder feels fuller than it really is. As a result, you often suddenly need to go to the toilet. This can occur both during the day and at night.
Caffeine and alcohol
Do you drink a lot of drinks that contain caffeine or alcohol? Then that may just be the reason that you often have to go to the toilet. Caffeine and alcohol irritate your bladder a bit, because they cause more waste in your urine, while your bladder wants to get rid of it. This will make you pee more
Stress a place
Stress can put all kinds of systems in the body to work, including urine production. If you are under stress, you probably have an increased heart rate, which can cause the kidneys to work harder and therefore produce more urine. There is also a theory that more urination in stressful times attributes to the increased production of the stress hormone cortisol. Cortisol, according to a 2015 American study, inhibits the production of another hormone, vasopressin. If you do not make enough vasopressin, you will not be able to retain water as well, causing you to urinate more.
cystitis
A bladder infection is a common cause of frequent urination. The bacteria that cause the inflammation can enter the urinary tract in 2 ways. Namely through the bloodstream or from the outside through the urethra. The last option is the most common. A bladder infection can go away on its own by drinking a lot of water, but this will most likely make you urinate even more often.
Age
As you get older, the capacity of your bladder may decrease. In men, the prostate continues to grow from the age of 25. An enlarged prostate can irritate the bladder, stimulating your need to urinate more quickly. As a result of age, the pelvic floor muscles also become weaker, which means that you are less able to hold your urine.
Also read: Tips to urinate less often during a long car ride
Pregnancy
When you are pregnant, the baby in your belly presses on your bladder more and more. This makes you feel that you need to urinate more quickly.
Diabetes insipidus
People with the rare disease diabetes insipidus – unrelated to diabetes – will have to urinate more often. This disease ensures that the body retains water less well, so that someone has to urinate much more often and also has to drink a lot in order not to become dehydrated.
The plaything
Certain medications such as water pills cause you to have to go to the toilet often. The pills drain the excess fluid that you retain. They do this by stimulating the production of urine in the kidneys. Doctors prescribe diuretics, among other things, for high blood pressure, heart failure and diabetes.
Tumor
Of course you don’t want to think about this. But if you have a tumor near your bladder, it can take up space, causing pressure on the bladder. This can cause urination problems.
Also read: This Is Why Peeing In The Shower Isn’t A Good Idea
Doubt about peeing
Are you unsure whether one of the above causes applies to your complaints? Or does your urine contain blood? Then contact your doctor.
(Source: Archive, Thuisarts, Maxima MC, Gezondheidsnet. Photo: Shutterstock)