Does How Often You Pee Say Something About Your Health?

If you’ve ever wondered how often you should pee on a daily basis, you’re not alone. How often you urinate is actually an important sign of your overall health, beginning in infancy and continuing throughout your life. Keep reading to learn more about urination and when peeing frequently may signal that you need to visit your doctor.

Urinary frequency and your health

Urinating as much as seven times in 24 hours is considered typical, with most people urinating about six to seven times. But it’s not out of the ordinary to urinate more or less on any given day. How much you pee depends on many factors, such as:

• age

• how much you drink in a day

• what you drink

• medical conditions, such as diabetes or a urinary tract infection (UTI)

• medication usage

• bladder size

Regularly urinating more than seven times per day may be normal for some people and may not be a sign of a health problem. But the National Institute of Aging suggests talking to your doctor if you regularly urinate eight or more times.

Reasons you may urinate more frequently include:

Urinary tract infection (UTI)

A UTI is a common condition that can affect how often you urinate. Anyone can develop UTIs, although they’re more common in women. A UTI can make you feel an urgent need to urinate, even if you recently emptied your bladder.

During an infection, you may find yourself urinating more often, but in smaller amounts. You’ll also likely feel a burning sensation when you urinate.

There are many possible causes for a UTI, so it’s best to see a doctor if you suspect an infection of your urinary tract.

Pregnancy

Special circumstances, such as pregnancy and the weeks after giving birth, can affect how often you urinate. During pregnancy, a person urinates more frequently due to hormonal changes along with bladder pressure from the growing fetus. After birth, they continue to have increased urinary output for weeks. This is because of the extra fluids they may have received during labor from an IV, or medicine, as well as the body’s natural response to mobilize and eliminate fluids after birth.

Urinary retention

Urinary retention is when you can’t fully empty your bladder. It can cause a persistent feeling like you need to urinate, pain in your lower abdomen, and frequent urination. It can be caused by:

• neurological factors

• infections

• bladder muscle dysfunction

• obstruction

• medications

Diabetes

If you have diabetes or undiagnosed diabetes, you may urinate more often than usual. More frequent urination is your body’s way of getting rid of the extra sugar in your bloodstream.

Hypocalcemia or hypercalcemia

If the calcium levels in your body are too high or too low — conditions that are known as hypocalcemia or hypercalcemia — your urine frequency may change.

Low potassium (hypokalemia)

Low potassium can impair your kidneys’ ability to concentrate urine and may lead to excessive thirst or excessive urination.

Medications

People with heart problems, high blood pressure, or poor kidney function often take medications that are called diuretics. Diuretics work to help the kidney filter out more fluid into the urine. Taking diuretics may cause you to urinate more frequently. Some common diuretics include:

• chlorothiazide (Diuril)

• chlorthalidone (Thalitone)

• hydrochlorothiazide (Microzide)

• indapamide

• metolazone

• bumetanide (Bumex)

• furosemide (Lasix)

• torsemide (Demadex)

• amiloride (Midamor)

• eplerenone (Inspra)

• spironolactone (Aldactone)

• triamterene (Dyrenium)

Certain foods and supplements

Some foods or supplements are natural diuretics and can increase the amount of fluid your body eliminates. These include:

• caffeine

• dandelion

• hawthorn

• horsetail

• juniper

• green tea and black tea

• parsley

• hibiscus

• watermelon

• grapes

• berries

• celery

Sickle cell anemia

Sickle cell anemia can affect kidney function. Damaging the kidneys means that they can’t do their job as well, and more urine is made. This creates the need to urinate more frequently.

Congestive heart failure

Congestive heart failure can make it difficult for your body to get rid of excess fluid, especially in your lower body. When you lie down at night, your body may produce more urine to try to get rid of this fluid.

Up to half of people with congestive heart failure experience an overactive bladder and urinary incontinence.

Tachycardia

Tachycardia is an abnormally fast heartbeat. Tachycardia-polyuria is increased urine output due to tachycardia, defined as a heartbeat over 120 beats per minute for more than 30 minutes. A decrease of antidiuretic hormone and production of atrial natriuretic peptide are thought to be involved in increasing urine output.

Medical procedures

If you’ve recently had a test that involved injecting dye into your body, such as a CT scan, you may pee more as your body eliminates the extra fluid.

Alcohol and caffeine

Alcohol and caffeine can have diuretic effects, causing you to urinate more than usual. When consuming these substances, frequent urination probably isn’t a sign of a medical issue.

Caffeine is found in many foods and drinks, including:

• coffee

• tea

• soda

• hot chocolate

• energy drinks

Increasing water intake

Drinking large amounts of water during the day can increase your urine output and frequency.

Overactive thyroid

An overactive thyroid can cause a wide range of symptoms that include frequent urination and persistent thirst. Other common symptoms include:

• difficulty sleeping

• increased appetite

• restlessness

• inability to concentrate

Anxiety

Anxiousness can potentially cause the smooth muscles surrounding your bladder to contract, causing pressure and stimulating the urge to urinate.

Interstitial cystitis

Interstitial cystitis is a condition that causes chronic inflammation of your bladder. Common symptoms include:

• frequent urination

• accidental leakage of urine

• pelvic or abdominal pain and pressure

• urgent need to urinate

Multiple myeloma

Multiple myeloma is a rare type of blood cancer. One symptom can be high levels of calcium, which can cause increased urination.

Primary aldosteronism

Hyperaldosteronism is an overproduction of the hormone aldosterone by your adrenal glands. Overproduction of this hormone can cause your body to retain sodium and lose more potassium. Low potassium can cause frequent urination.

Polycystic kidney disease

Polycystic kidney disease is a genetic condition where cysts grow on your kidneys. People tend not to develop symptoms until they’re between ages 30 to 50. Frequent urination is one potential early symptom.

Kidney stones

About 600,000Trusted Source people in the United States experience kidney stones each year. They can cause extreme pain along your side and back that may radiate to your belly or groin. Other symptoms include:

• frequent urination

• pain during urination

• urinary urgency

• blood in urine

• cloudy urine

• fever and chills

Conditions that can make you pee in smaller amounts

Certain conditions may cause you to experience a lower-than-average output of urine. For men, this may be due to an enlarged prostate. An enlarged prostate is often caused by benign prostate enlargement (BPH), which isn’t cancerous or due to prostate cancer. When the prostate becomes enlarged, it can block the flow of urine out of your bladder. This can leave you unable to fully empty your bladder, even after urination.

When to contact a doctor

If you’re peeing so much or so often every day that you feel it’s affecting your quality of life, speak with a doctor. You may have an underlying medical condition, such as an overactive bladder. This can be treated.

You should also speak with a doctor if you’re peeing too infrequently, or feel like your bladder isn’t fully emptying even when you urinate, especially if you’re an older male. Other symptoms that merit a call to a doctor are:

• fever and back pain

• blood in your urine

• white and cloudy urine

• discolored urine

• strong or abnormal smell to your urine

Treatment

Your treatment may depend on which condition is causing your symptoms. If you’re pregnant, for example, frequent urination will continue until you give birth.

If your symptoms are caused by a medical condition, treating the condition may help.

• If you have diabetes, managing your blood sugar should reduce your need to urinate.

• If your urination frequency is caused by a UTI, once the UTI has been resolved, your urine output should return to normal.

• If you have an enlarged prostate blocking urine flow, you may need medicine to increase your urine flow or decrease your prostate size.

• If you’re on a diuretic medication for heart failure or high blood pressure, your doctor may try to adjust your dose in order to help your symptoms.

Tips for healthy urinary tract

In addition to letting your doctor know difficulties while urinating, here are a few tips to decrease genital and urinary irritation:

• Eat foods rich in probiotics, especially lactobacillus, which is found in yogurt and kefir. Early studies suggest that lactobacillus may be helpful for women with recurrent UTIs.

• If you use soap in the genital area, use an unscented product made for sensitive skin.

• Wear loose, cotton underwear.

• Avoid tight-fitting jeans and leggings.

• Try to urinate every 3 to 4 hours and avoid holding your pee when you need to go.

• Urinate after sex to decrease risk of a UTI.

• Consider not wearing underwear to bed to help your genital area stay cooler.

• Try to stay hydrated by drinking plenty of water. Many experts recommend drinking eight 8-ounce glasses per day, but the exact amount you need varies between people.

• Avoid excessive alcohol, soda, or caffeine consumption.

• Avoid things that may cause bladder irritation, such as artificial sweeteners and cigarettes.

Outlook

If you’re concerned about the amount you’re urinating, speak with a doctor. They may put your mind at ease and tell you that your urinary output is normal, or they may recognize additional symptoms. A urinalysis, which can be done in a doctor’s office, can provide useful information about your urinary tract health. Identifying underlying problems is the first step in finding a successful treatment plan.