How to Treat Frequent Urination

Do you have to “go” all the time? The technical name for your problem is frequent urination. In most people the bladder is able to store urine until it is convenient to go to the toilet, typically four to eight times a day. Needing to go more than eight times a day or waking up in the night to go to the bathroom could mean you’re drinking too much and/or too close to bedtime. Or it could signal a health problem.

Frequent urination can be bladder symptoms of many different problems. When frequent urination is accompanied by fever, an urgent need to urinate, and pain or discomfort in the abdomen, you may have a urinary tract infection. Other possible causes of frequent urination include:

1) Diabetes – Bladder symptoms of diabetes includes frequent urination. This is often an early symptom of both type 1 and type 2 diabetes as the body tries to rid itself of unused glucose through the urine.
2) Pregnancy – From the early weeks of pregnancy the growing uterus places pressure on the bladder, causing frequent urination.
3) Prostate problems -  An enlarged prostate can press against the urethra (the tube that carries urine out the body) and block the flow of urine. This causes the bladder wall to become irritated. Bladder symptoms includes urgent and frequent urination even when it contains small amounts of urine, causing more frequent urination.
4) Diuretic use – These medications that are used to treat high blood pressure or fluid buildup work in the kidney and flush excess fluid from the body, causing frequent urination, which can just be one of many bladder symptoms related to diuretic use.
5) Stroke or other neurological diseases – Damage to nerves that supply the bladder can lead to problematic bladder symptoms, including frequent  urination.

Often frequent urination is not a symptom of a problem, but is the problem. In people with overactive bladder syndrome, involuntary bladder contractions lead to urgent and frequent urination, meaning you have to get to a bathroom immediately, even if your bladder is not full. It may also lead you to wake up once or more during the night to use the bathroom.

To diagnose the cause of frequent urination, your doctor will perform a physical examination and take a medical history, asking questions such as the following:
Are you taking any medications?
Are you experiencing other bladder symptoms?
Do you have the problem only during the day or also at night?
Are you drinking more than usual?
Is your urine darker or lighter than usual?
Do you drink alcohol or caffeinated beverages?

Treatment for frequent urination will address the underlying problem that is causing it. For example, if diabetes is the cause, treatment will involve keeping blood sugar levelsunder control; treatment for overactive bladder may include drugs such as Detrol LA and Vesircare

There are also many things you can do on your own to reduce bladder symptoms such as frequent urination. They include:

1) Bladder retraining – This involves increasing the intervals between using the bathroom over the course of about 12 weeks. This helps retrain your bladder to hold urine longer and to urinate less frequently.
2) Kegel exercises – These exercises help strengthen the muscles around the bladder and urethra to reduce negative bladder symptoms and reduce urinary urgency and frequency. Exercising pelvic muscles for five minutes three times a day can make a difference in bladder symptoms.
3) Diet modification – You should avoid any food that appears to irritate your negative bladder symptoms or acts as a diuretic. These may include alcohol, carbonated drinks, tomato-based products, chocolate, artificial sweeteners, and spicy foods.
4) Monitoring fluid intake – You should drink enough to prevent constipation and over-concentration of urine, but you should avoid drinking just before bedtime, which can lead to nighttime urination.