Urination - excessive volume
Illustrations
Alternative Names
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Polyuria
Definition
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Excessive volume of urination means that you release abnormally large amounts of urine each day. The medical term for this condition is polyuria.
Considerations
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An excessive volume of urination for an adult would be at least 2.5 liters of urine per day.
Polyuria is a fairly common symptom, which is often noticed when you have to get up to use the bathroom at night.
Causes
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- Drinking a large amount of fluids, particularly those containing caffeine or alcohol
- Too much salt or glucose (if you have diabetes)
- Certain medications, especially diuretics
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Diabetes (including diabetes insipidus)
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Psychogenic polydipsia, most common in women over age 30
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Kidney failure
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Sickle cell anemia
- Imaging tests that involve injecting a special dye (contrast media) into your vein -- the amount of urine you produce will increase for up to 24 hours afterwards
Home Care
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You should keep track of the folllowing every day:
- How much you drink
- How often you urinate and how much urine you produce each time
- How much you weigh (use the same scale every day)
When to Contact a Medical Professional
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Call your doctor if you have excessive urination over several days, and it is not explained by medications or increase in fluids.
What to Expect at Your Office Visit
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Your health care provider will perform a physical exam and ask you questions about your medical history and symptoms, including:
- Time pattern
- How long has you noticed this problem?
- Do you produce the same amount of urine every day?
- What time of day does the problem seem worse?
- Quality
- What color is the urine?
- Do you have blood in your urine?
- How many times each day do you urinate? What about at night?
- Any problems controlling urine?
- Aggravating factors
- What makes the problem worse?
- Does drinking large volumes of fluid make you produce more urine?
- Relieving factors
- Does anything help relieve the problem?
- Does restricting fluid intake reduce the urine volume?
- Other
- What other symptoms do you have?
- Do you have any pain or burning when urinating?
- Do you have back or abdominal pain?
- Have you had a fever?
- Is bed wetting a problem?
- What medications do you take?
- Do you have a family history of diabetes or kidney problems?
- Have you had a previous urinary tract infection?
- Dietary factors
- How much do you drink every day?
- How much caffeine do you have each day?
- How much alcohol do you drink?
- How much salt do you use each day?
Tests that may be done include:
Update Date:
1/24/2008
Updated by:
Marc A. Greenstein, D.O., F.A.C.O.S. Urologist, Somerset Medical Center in Somerville, NJ. Review provided by VeriMed Healthcare Network. Also reviewed by David Zieve, MD, MHA, Medical Director, A.D.A.M., Inc.
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