If you’ve found yourself making sure you know when your next bathroom break will be, or waking up in the middle of the night to pee
, you might be wondering: Am I going to the bathroom too much? The answer depends on the individual, but there are some clear, established guidelines for how much is too much, experts say. Urinating too frequently can even be a sign of an underlying health condition that needs attention.Here’s what doctors want you to know if you’ve been experiencing this symptom.
How much is too much when it comes to bathroom trips?
“So the dividing line, physiologically, is most of us who have no pathology or abnormal bladders go eight or fewer times daily during our waking hours to urinate. If you go more than eight times during your waking hours, that is defined as increased frequency
of urination,” says Dr. Nathaniel Barnes, urological surgeon at Memorial Hermann Health System in Texas.
He says he considers nighttime urination a separate issue, called nocturia. “It may be associated with urgency and frequency, but if a patient shows up in the office and their only complaint is, ‘I go three to five times at night,’ then the No. 1 cause would be obstructive sleep apnea,” he says.
The most common culprits behind frequent urination
There are some simple, more obvious causes, such as overhydrating through the day, says Dr. Patrick Fratellone, integrative medicine doctor in New York City and Fairfield, Connecticut. Even drinking too much caffeine, which is a diuretic, can contribute. People should watch for burning or blood in the urine, which he says can be a sign of an infection. Other potential causes include:
- Overactive bladder. People with this condition might experience both urgency and increased frequency. “They’re both in the constellation of overactive bladder. Urgency is the overwhelming sense that you have to urinate, and if you don’t make it to the bathroom immediately, you have a fear of leakage. It’s a sensation. Frequency is the number of times you actually go during your waking hours,” Barnes says. Know you aren’t alone; overactive bladder impacts 33 million adults, Cleveland Clinic reports.
- Neurological conditions. Parkinson’s, CIDP, post-stroke and multiple sclerosis patients might experience this issue, Barnes says.
- Poorly controlled diabetes. “Patients with poorly controlled diabetes go to the bathroom frequently because glucose acts as an osmotic diuretic. Each glucose molecule attaches to two water molecules in the kidney and causes increased urinary output, leading to frequency,” Barnes says. Frattelone said that diabetes should be taken very seriously as it relates to urine production symptoms. “You must seek medical attention.”
- Muscle or bladder weakness. “This happens as females age. This can be treated with medications, herbs and even pelvic floor exercises,” Fratellone says.
- Enlarged prostate. The most likely cause of increased urination in men? An enlarged prostate. “This occurs in men at older ages, but can occur in younger age if due to inflammation of the prostate,” Fratellone says.
- Medication side effects. Medications such as Lasix and hydrochlorothiazide, taken for hypertension or congestive heart failure, can increase urination, Barnes says.
The bottom line is that if urinating too frequently is impacting your life, Barnes says, it’s time to bring it up to a urologist.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: How to know you're going to the bathroom too much
