Polyuria is a medical symptom in which someone produces an unusually high volume of urine. Sometimes people simply urinate a lot because they drink a lot of fluids, but sometimes polyuria is a symptom of an underlying medical condition that needs to be addressed. This symptom can be accompanied by polydipsia, defined as increased thirst; The two conditions are often linked in a cycle as the body struggles to cope with an imbalance that occurs within.
Polydipsia and polyuria are two characteristic symptoms of diabetes that can be an important diagnostic clue. However, polyuria can also be caused by a wide range of other conditions. For example, sometimes people with fluid collections, such as ascites and edema, begin to express the fluid in their urine. Certain medications can also cause it, with diuretics being a notable example, and there are many other health conditions associated with excessive urination.
People with polyuria find that they need to pass urine frequently and that when they urinate, the volume of urine may be higher than normal. If a lot of water is consumed at the same time, the urine can be relatively pale in color. In some patients, polyuria occurs more at night, and people get up several times during the night to urinate. Sometimes people can wet the bed because they don't realize how urgently they need to urinate.
If polyuria occurs in a single day and someone remembers drinking a lot of fluids, especially tea or coffee, medical attention is probably not needed, especially if no other abnormal symptoms are seen. The body simply processes the fluid it does not need and removes it. While this may be inconvenient, it is not a cause for alarm; although it may be a cause to moderate your coffee and tea intake in the future. Patients who know they have conditions that cause excessive urination may take polyuria as a sign that the condition is not being managed well and it is time to see a doctor to evaluate the current treatment plan.
When a patient experiences polyuria combined with excessive thirst and it continues for more than a day, it is time to go to the doctor. The doctor can evaluate the patient to explore possible causes and use some diagnostic tests to learn more about the patient's situation. Hopefully, treating the condition causing the excessive urination will also resolve the polyuria. Patients should be aware that many of the conditions associated with excessive urination are chronic, so treatment is focused on treatment, not finding a cure.