Excessive urination or polyuria can be a symptom of diabetes and should not be ignored. Know all about the condition and how to manage it!
Always in the loo or looking for one? Feeling the need to urinate all the time can be a nuisance. Not just that, it can also be a symptom of diabetes. Wondering how to stop frequent urination in diabetes? This article is a detailed explanation of how and why frequent urination or polyuria occurs and how to manage it.
Contents:
What is Polyuria in Diabetes?
Polyuria is a medical condition characterised by passing large volumes of urine more frequently. In polyuria, your body makes more than 3 litres of urine per day, as compared to the normal urine output in adults, which is about 1 to 2 litres every day. Although polyuria may occur due to environmental and other health issues, it is more common in diabetes, both Type 1 Diabetes and Type 2 Diabetes. Polyuria is one of the three main symptoms of diabetes, besides polydipsia (excessive thirst) and polyphagia (excessive hunger). Together, these factors are known as the 3 P’s of diabetes.
What Causes Polyuria or Frequent Urination in Diabetes?
When you have diabetes, your body either cannot produce the hormone insulin (Type 1 Diabetes) or does not use insulin properly or both (Type 2 Diabetes), resulting in excess glucose (sugar) in your blood. In healthy adults, when the kidneys filter blood to make urine, all of the glucose is reabsorbed by the kidneys themselves and returned to the bloodstream. In diabetes, the blood sugar level is abnormally high and not all of the sugar will be reabsorbed. Some of the excess sugar from the blood is present in the urine, where it draws more water. This results in your body producing an abnormally large volume of urine at regular intervals throughout the day and night, and as a result, frequent urination. This condition is called polyuria. This diabetes urine color can be cloudy and may also smell sweet or fruity due to the high amount of sugar in the urine.
How to Manage Polyuria in Diabetes?
As polyuria is a symptom of diabetes, it can be managed by making sure that your diabetes is managed and your blood sugar levels are controlled. To manage diabetes, you can take the following steps:
- Medication: Type 1 Diabetes requires insulin therapy. Type 2 Diabetes may require oral or injectable diabetes medication and/or insulin therapy.
- Healthy Diet: Eat more fibre-containing food like vegetables, fruits, legumes, and whole grains. as fibre slows carbohydrate digestion and sugar absorption, delaying the rise in blood sugar levels.
- Hydration: Drink plenty of water and unsweetened fluids to keep your body hydrated as it helps your kidney remove excess sugar from your body.
- Weight Management: If you are overweight, even a minor change in your body weight can lead to a considerable change in your blood sugar levels. Maintaining a healthy weight is necessary to control your blood sugar levels.
- Exercise: Exercising regularly helps your body utilise more glucose and increases the insulin sensitivity of the cells.
- Blood Sugar Monitoring: Monitoring your blood sugar levels regularly can help detect any changes in your blood sugar and take early action.
Don’t Have Time To Read?
- Polyuria is a medical condition characterised by large volumes of urine passed more frequently. It is common in Type 1 and Type 2 Diabetes. In polyuria, your body makes more than 3 litres of urine per day.
- Polyuria occurs in diabetes because the kidneys lose the ability to reabsorb the glucose (sugar) filtered from the blood. This increases the amount of sugar in the urine. The sugar draws more water from the body and causes a large volume of urine and frequent urination.
- Polyuria in diabetes can be managed by controlling blood sugar levels and managing diabetes better. To manage diabetes, have a healthy diet, exercise, maintain a healthy weight, keep yourself hydrated, monitor your blood sugar levels, and take prescribed medication on time.
- Use the Phable Care App to consult India’s leading diabetologists, order medicines, book lab tests, integrate blood sugar monitoring and other devices to get real-time remote care from the comfort of your home. Also, check out our Diabetes Management program which provides 360º care. Let’s treat diabetes together.
Friendly Asked Questions
It is normal for individuals to wake up 1 or 2 times during the night. If you urinate more than two times during the night, you may have a condition called nocturia. Nocturia can be a sign of an underlying medical condition and should be discussed with a doctor.
There is no home remedy for immediate resolution of polyuria or frequent urination in diabetes. It is important for you to know how to stop frequent urination in diabetes. You can control frequent urination by managing diabetes and controlling your blood sugar levels. Eat more fibre-containing foods, exercise regularly, maintain a healthy weight, take medications on time, and monitor your blood sugar levels regularly to keep diabetes and its related symptoms such as polyuria in check.
Most healthy individuals urinate 4 to 7 times a day. Urinating more than 7 to 8 times a day, and more frequently at night time, may be an indication that you have diabetes.
You should consult your doctor if you are passing excessive urine and urinating more than 7 times a day, over the course of several days. If excessive urination cannot be explained by an increase in fluids or medications, it may be an early symptom of diabetes. Your doctor may prescribe you medications and educate you on how to stop frequent urination in diabetes.