Polyuria: Symptoms, Causes, Diagnosis, and Treatment

Polyuria is a medical term that is heard very often but its meaning is not well known. Polyuria is used to describe a condition related to the urinary tract. This disease means that the person has excess urine, and its symptoms are often searched on the internet. What is polyuria, and what causes it? What are the symptoms of polyuria, and how is its treatment done? Here, are all the details.

What is polyuria?

The kidneys of an adult individual provide an average of up to 2 liters of urine per day. In individuals with polyuria, urine production exceeds 2.5 liters during the day. As a definition of polyuria, we can say that it is a kind of excess urine. A low daily urine volume is called oliguria. Among the causes, there may be many diseases such as diabetes, pregnancy, and kidney failure. In addition to this, some people feel extremely thirsty. It’s called polydipsia. Generally, in the case of polyuria, polydipsia can also be experienced.

Causes of polyuria and polydipsia

This disease is often the result of drinking an excessive amount of fluid. It is also among the most important symptoms of diabetes mellitus. When the kidneys filter the blood to urinate, they absorb all the sugar. As a result, they return sugar to the bloodstream. As you know, in diabetes, the level of sugar in the blood is abnormally high. Not all sugar can be reabsorbed. Naturally, some of this excess glucose in the blood results in urine in which it draws in more water. As a result, you will experience more urination than normal.

Polyuria causes are:

  • Diabetes mellitus,
  • Kidney disease
  • Chronic diarrhoea
  • Cushing’s syndrome
  • Psychogenic polydipsia
  • Hypercalcemia
  • Liver failure
  • Medications that include diuretics
  • Pregnancy

Polyuria in diabetes mellitus

In diabetes, polydipsia and polyuria can be seen together. But this is one of the symptoms of undiagnosed diabetes. If blood sugar levels are too high, polyuria can also occur in people with diabetes. When blood sugar levels get too high, the kidneys step in. It works more than normal to eliminate glucose from the body in the blood. As a result, you urinate more than usual.

Symptoms

This disease has many symptoms. These symptoms may differ from person to person. The most common polyuria symptoms are; frequent urination can be said as color changes seen in the urine. The treatment of this disease varies according to the underlying causes. It is of great importance that individuals who are worried about this disorder go to the nearest health institution.

Diagnosis of polyuria

You should remember that polyuria is not actually a disorder, but a symptom that appears due to an underlying cause. If you have symptoms of this problem, you should contact a health care provider and be examined. Your doctor will ask you some about your complaints. Here are some questions your doctor can ask:

  • How many times do you urinate in a day?
  • How many liters of water do you drink in a day?
  • Do you wake up at night to urinate?
  • When did your symptoms start?
  • Do you have any other symptoms?
  • What medications do you use?

Your answers to such questions can lead to a preliminary diagnosis of the underlying medical cause. You may need to have some tests for a clear diagnosis. These tests include:

  • Complete urinalysis
  • Urine cytology
  • Blood tests
  • Glucose urine test
  • Antidiuretic hormone blood test

Polyuria treatment

The best method for the treatment of polyuria is to detect and treat the underlying disease. For example, this drug should be discontinued for much urine that occurs due to lithium. In order to eliminate polyurine caused by diabetes, blood sugar level should be controlled with the help of various drugs. Excess urine output due to diabetes insipidus can be eliminated by detecting and treating the condition that causes this disease. In addition to the detection and treatment of the underlying disease, there are some things you need to do. You can try these suggestions to relieve your symptoms:

  • Follow your fluid intake during the day.
  • Limit fluid intake before going to bed.
  • Reduce caffeinated drinks.
  • Limit alcohol intake.
  • Tell your doctor about the medications you use.

Nocturnal polyuria

Nocturia is a medical term and refers to the desire to wake up from sleep at night and urinate. Waking up from sleep at night and urinating two or more urines adversely affects the quality of life by disrupting people’s sleep patterns, can cause falls and injuries, daytime fatigue and related accidents in the elderly. About one-third of adults over the age of 30 have nocturia. Nocturia is not a disease, it is a symptom of any underlying disease in our body or of multiple ailments. The most common cause of nocturia in elderly male patients in urology is benign prostate enlargement.

Treatment options for nocturnal polyurea are quite diverse. Nocturnal polyuria treatments are generally as follows:

  • Lifestyle changes
  • Medication
  • Surgery
  • It could be in the form of a combination of these.

If you have a few of the symptoms associated with this illness contact the Erdem Hospital call centre.

Frequently Asked Questions