Frequent or Urgent Urination: Common Causes and When to Be Seen

What it involves

MedlinePlus defines frequent urination as needing to urinate more often than usual, and urgent urination as a sudden, strong need to go that is hard to delay. Needing to urinate at night is called nocturia, and MedlinePlus notes that most people can sleep for 6 to 8 hours without having to urinate.

Who this is for

• Patients who go to the bathroom far more often than they used to
• Patients waking two or more times a night to urinate
• Patients with a sudden, strong urge or trouble holding urine
• Patients who also feel unusually thirsty or have lost weight without trying

What to expect

• Questions about how often, how much, and whether there is burning, pain, or leaking
• A review of your medicines, caffeine, alcohol, and fluid habits
• A physical exam and, if needed, a urine test to look for infection or sugar
• A plan that matches the cause, which may mean treatment or a referral

Common causes

MedlinePlus lists these as the common causes of frequent or urgent urination:

• A urinary tract infection
• An enlarged prostate in middle-aged and older men
• Swelling and infection of the urethra
• Vaginitis, meaning swelling or discharge from the vulva and vagina
• Nerve-related problems
• Caffeine intake

Less common causes worth knowing

MedlinePlus also names alcohol use, anxiety, diabetes that is not well controlled, pregnancy, interstitial cystitis, overactive bladder, spine problems, stroke, and water pills such as diuretics. Bladder cancer and pelvic growths are listed as uncommon. The diabetes link is why a provider may check blood sugar, and the diabetes management page explains how the practice approaches diabetes care. Most people with these symptoms turn out to have something simple and treatable.

Bring a bladder diary

MedlinePlus suggests writing down the times you urinate and the amount of urine you produce, and bringing this record to your visit. It calls this a voiding diary. A few days of notes show whether the issue is volume, timing, or urgency, which narrows the causes faster than a description from memory.

Get seen promptly if

MedlinePlus says to contact your provider right away if you have fever, back or side pain, vomiting, or shaking chills, or if you have increased thirst or appetite, fatigue, or sudden weight loss. It also says to call if you have frequency or urgency while not pregnant and not drinking large amounts of fluid, if you have incontinence, or if your urine is bloody or cloudy. Burning with urination points toward infection, which the urinary tract infection care page covers.

What a visit involves

MedlinePlus says your provider takes a history and does a physical exam, and may order a urinalysis or urine culture. Less often it lists bladder pressure testing, cystoscopy, nervous system tests, or an ultrasound. The practice's role is the history, exam, and plan; the urinalysis guide explains what a urine test looks for, and testing beyond that would be arranged through a referral. Treatment depends on the cause and may mean antibiotics and medicine to ease discomfort.

Small changes for night-time trips

For nighttime urination, MedlinePlus advises avoiding too much fluid before bed and cutting down on drinks that contain alcohol or caffeine. If an unrelated sleep problem is part of the picture, the insomnia and sleep problems guide looks at that side of it.

Sources

• MedlinePlus — Frequent or urgent urination
• MedlinePlus — Urine and Urination