Whether it’s during a car ride or a meeting, your bladder never leaves you alone. So why do you have to pee all the time? Gynecologist Seth Rankin will help you understand why you have to pee frequently.
Don’t understand why your bladder never leaves you alone? We’ll explain it all to you. When can you be considered to be urinating too much?
If you go to the bathroom more than seven times a day and/or night, you probably have Frequent Urination. Here are the different causes :
You drink too much water
Granted, this sounds obvious. But what you may not have known is that drinking two liters of water a day is not necessarily a good thing. Here’s what Dr. Rankin says: “The belief that we should all drink two liters of water a day is a myth. Research has shown that for a person to be healthy, they need to drink two liters of water a day. But it says that 1.6 liters should come from the food we eat. In fact, most food is largely composed of water. In reality, we only need 400 to 500 ml of water per day, or two large glasses.” If you want to pee less, don’t force yourself to drink all the time.
You have an overactive bladder
If you feel like going to the bathroom all the time, it may be because you have an overactive bladder. Normally, when the bladder is full, the information is sent to the brain, so you feel the need to pee. However, in some people, the urge to pee comes on suddenly and more often than average. The information is sent to the brain when the bladder is not full.
Symptoms of an overactive bladder:
- An urgent need to urinate,
- Loss of control, which can lead to urine leakage,
- Frequent urination (about eight times in 24 hours),
- The urge to urinate that wakes you up at night.
If you have any of these symptoms, talk to your doctor.
What is the natural remedy for an overactive bladder?
Dr. Rankin recommends regular pelvic exercises. He also recommends cutting down on coffee and/or tea.
The urge to pee all the time: you have diabetes
One of the symptoms of diabetes is the constant urge to drink. “Constant urges to drink are often the first sign of diabetes,” says Dr. Rankin. If you’re concerned, don’t hesitate to have your blood sugar checked by your doctor.
You suffer from urinary incontinence
Urinary incontinence is much more common than you might think. It can affect women after childbirth or be the result of an operation such as a hysterectomy (removal of the uterus). “Laughing, sneezing or coughing increases the pressure on the bladder. It is then no longer able to hold urine properly. But again, pelvic exercises can help manage the problem,” says Dr. Rankin.
Stress and the urge to urinate
Before a job interview or a first date, you often have to pee. It’s embarrassing, but it’s very common. You know that your bladder is not full and that you don’t really need to go to the bathroom. Yet, you feel better if you do. According to Dr. Rankin, this is a reaction of the nervous system to try to combat your stress. The adrenaline hormones are more present in your bloodstream, which increases urine flow. The solution? Take deep breaths and try to calm yourself down as much as possible. But if going to the bathroom makes you feel better, don’t hesitate.
Frequent desire to urinate: you have a small bladder
Why do I pee as soon as I drink? You should know that the bladder can only hold 300 to 500 ml of water, which is a few cups of tea or a small bottle. So it fills up pretty quickly. “But if you feel the urge to urinate quickly after drinking, it may be because you have a small bladder,” says Dr. Rankin. In that case, there’s not much you can do. You’ll just go to the bathroom a little more often than average.
You are addicted to coffee
Coffee is a diuretic. That is, it increases the flow of urine, but at the same time, it dehydrates the body. The same goes for alcohol. That’s why, the day after a party, your throat is as dry as the Sahara desert. To stop the urge to pee all the time, reduce your consumption of coffee, tea and alcohol a little.
Peeing out of habit
Sometimes you don’t even have to pee, but you go out of habit. Whether it’s before watching a movie or on a long car ride. For Dr. Rankin, there’s no need to worry about this. You don’t need to worry too much either. You may just have a good bowel movement!
Peeing all the time with pain: you have an STD
Some transmitted diseases (STDs) cause frequent urination. They are often accompanied by pain, itching, or blood in the urine.
STDs that make you want to pee often:
- Clamydia infection,
- Gonococcus.
