Since urology does not often come up in day-to-day conversation, many people are left in the dark about how often they should urinate.
It is a widely known fact that in order to stay healthy, people should consume plenty of water each day, especially in the Arizona heat. But, it’s important to know the difference between being well hydrated and possibly having a urological condition that causes frequent urination.
Our team agrees that there are many reasons why someone could urinate more than others. For example, the bladder, much like the stomach, will shrink if it is never full. So patients who use the restroom “just in case” may have to go frequently because their bladder has shrunk and cannot hold as much urine as it once could. If this is the case, our urology experts recommend bladder training. This is a technique where patients hold the urine in about 10 minutes after they feel the urge. As patients become more comfortable, they can hold it for higher increments of time until the amount of times they need to urinate becomes less bothersome.
Alcohol is another reason people urinate more frequently, so while alcoholic beverages may be harmful for your body, urinating often while tipsy is not cause for concern to a urologist.
However, there are cases where patients urinate too much each day due to an underlying condition. For example, patients with urinary tract infections often feel sudden, strong urges to urinate. Patients may have a urinary tract infection if this urge is accompanied by pain when relieving the urges and cloudy or bloody-looking urine.
Another condition that may cause frequent voiding is called overactive bladder, also known as urge incontinence. This is when patients often get the sudden urge to urinate, and sometimes accidentally release a little before they planned to. Fortunately, the Affiliated Urologists team is highly experienced at treating all forms of incontinence. They can prescribe medication, perform interventional therapies, or do minimally invasive procedures to help treat the condition.
So we know that urinating too many times per day may mean that the patient has a urological condition, but how many times is considered too much? Unfortunately, the answer is incredibly broad. It depends on many factors. For example, many medications can make you need to go more often, and people who are simply very hydrated will need to go more. Our urology experts agree that people should aim to urinate about 6-7 times over the course of a day. However, voiding less frequently than this is no cause for alarm. We believe that as long as patients have light or clear colored urine and go when they need to, patients can be perfectly healthy urinating less often.
If you have any questions or concerns about the frequency in which you have to run to the restroom, please don’t hesitate to call our team. We’d be more than happy to schedule an appointment and make sure everything checks out.
Affiliated Urologists is an award-winning practice recognized both locally and nationally that has provided service to patients in Phoenix, Scottsdale, and surrounding communities in the Valley, for over 40 years. The physicians emphasize top-of-the-line comprehensive urological care and strive to deliver the highest outcomes for patient satisfaction. To make an appointment, call 602-264-0608 or visit http://affiliatedurologists.com/contact/ for instructions on scheduling an appointment.
The advice and information contained in this article is for educational purposes only, and is not intended to replace or counter a physician’s advice or judgment. Please always consult your physician before taking any advice learned here or in any other educational medical material.
