Frequent urge to urinate: what is pollakiuria?

If you are worried about the how often you want to urinate and you have noticed an unusual increase, you may be suffering from pollakiuriaa pathology characterized by a frequent desire to urinate more than 7 times a day.

“Pollakiuria corresponds to the fact going to the toilet more than 7 times a day and or more than once a night to urinate in small quantities”, defines health insurance. “This phenomenon is sometimes accompanied by urinary leakage or burning”. In the most severe cases, the person will urinate every 15 to 20 minutes, and very little each time.

“Each urination (urination) is scarce (often less than 100 ml, the equivalent of a small glass of water). On the other hand, the total volume of urine issued in 24 hours remains normal “.

“Pollakiuria may be accompanied by feeling of an urgent need to urinate (urgency) says an MSD manual article (source 2). “This sensation is not relieved by urinary emptying, so once the bladder is emptied, patients keep trying to urinate but only small amounts of urine are emitted”.

There diurnal pollakiuria occurs during the day. In case of nocturnal pollakiuriaOr nocturiathe patient gets up more than once a night to urinate, explains the Health Insurance.

Several causes can explain a frequent urge to urinate.

It’s summer, and to stay well hydrated, have you slipped a bottle of water into your handbag? Added an extra cup of coffee or tea to your morning routine? Without realizing it, we sometimes increase our fluid intake and, inevitably, our desire to pee.

Normally, when the bladder is full, the muscles tense, and the receptors tell the brain that it’s time to pee. However, if you suffer fromoveractive bladder, these receptors are activated at the slightest sign of muscle contraction, even if the bladder is not full. The urge is then difficult to hold back and can seriously hamper daily life. Researchers are still working on this disorder to better understand it and find solutions.

The natural flow of female hormones can affect our bladder. During difficult times like menstrual cyclethere menopause or the pregnancythe urge to urinate can increase significantly in some women.

The psyche can affect the muscles of the bladder. THE stress, I’anxiety even anxiety disordersor even a strong emotion can in particular cause a frequent desire to urinate even when the bladder is not full.

A frequent urge to urinate can also occur “during a anticipatory and precautionary attitude “, adds the Health Insurance, such as going to the toilet as a precaution, for fear of urinary leakage for example, or when the toilet. will be less easily accessible.

Sometimes a frequent urge to pee can hide chronic or more serious disorders such as kidney stones, prostatitis, renal colic, uterine fibroids (which press on the bladder), painful bladder syndrome (also called interstitial cystitis), diabetes or multiple sclerosis. For this reason, it is important to stay tuned to your body and not underestimate the signals it sends us.

If in doubt, you can keep a diary for a few days by keeping track of what and when you drank and how many times you went to the bathroom. Talk to your doctor.

Lifestyle and dietary measures can improve the too frequent urge to urinate.

• Drink less and less often generally ;
• Reduce your consumption of tea, coffee and alcohol which have a diuretic effect and at the same time irritate the bladder – promoting pollakiuria;
• In case of nocturnal pollakiuriareduce your fluid intake (drinks, soups), in the evening, at dinner and afterwards.

Finally, “in the event of pollakiuria occurring during the day during certain emotions (e.g. stress) or reflex pollakiuria, try to reassure yourself to stop the symptoms. However, if these bother you on a daily basis, consult your doctor, ”advises the Health Insurance.

Prompt medical consultation is required if the too frequent urination become too bothersome on a daily basis and/or are associated with one or more of the following symptoms:

• “Urinary burning suggestive of cystitis;
• Intense pain in the lumbar region on one side only, which may be renal colic;
• Violent abdominal pain;
• Presence of blood in the urine;
• Fever, chills, vomiting, weight loss, fatigue, abnormal feeling of thirst…”.

Also see your doctor within 24 hours if your child has recent pollakiuria. The latter “will ask the person about the frequency of their urination, examine them and analyze their urine using a urine strip. If necessary, he requests additional examinations (eg ECBU, ultrasound, urodynamic assessment)”.

Treatment is tailored to the cause of the frequent urge to urinate.