What are the Causes and Treatment for Frequent Urination?
Frequent urination refers to the increased urge to urinate more often than normal. Under normal conditions, the urinary bladder stores the urine for a long time and people tend to use the toilet about four to eight times per day to pass urine. But those suffering from frequent urination problem may want to go the bathroom more than eight times per day and very often they get up in the middle of the night to pass urine, which affects their sleep considerably. This condition is often considered normal by many people and they ignore it without taking any treatment. The urge to pass urine in this condition may be sudden and they also feel a discomfort in the bladder.
Frequent urination is one of the most common symptoms of urinary tract infection, diabetes, pregnancy, and also problems in prostate glands, like enlarged prostate glands.
Some other causes of this condition include:
- Overactive bladder syndrome
- Nervous system diseases, including stroke
- Tumor in pelvis region
- Excessive caffeine consumption, especially before bedtime
- Alcohol abuse
- Interstitial cystitis
- Use of diuretics
Some of the less common causes of the condition include urinary bladder cancer, radiation therapy directed to the pelvis, and bladder dysfunction. In very few cases, frequent urination is a habit.
Treatment options for treating this condition are based on the actual cause of frequent urination. Thus, frequent urination resulting from diabetes can be controlled by regulating the blood sugar levels. Simple home care methods are also found to be effective in controlling this condition.
- Bladder retraining – This is a method to retrain the urinary bladder to store urine for a longer duration by increasing the time intervals between using the bathroom.
- Kegel exercises – These exercises helps to strengthen the bladder muscles. This is an ideal way to control the release of urine reducing the urge to urinate frequently.
- Lifestyle changes – Foods that tend to trigger this condition like caffeine, alcohol, chocolate, artificial sweeteners should be totally avoided. Since constipation is one of the causes of frequent urge, improving the diet and including more of fibrous food will help to prevent frequent urination.
- Regulating fluid intake – One should drink plenty of fluids to make bowel movements easy, avoiding constipation. But care should be taken not to drink fluids just before bedtime which may increase the urge to urinate during night time, affecting sleep.
