Nocturia, the need to urinate several times during the night, can be caused by various factors including medication, pregnancy, and health conditions such as diabetes and sleep apnea. It is important to report it to a doctor as it can indicate serious health risks and affect daytime functioning. Simple treatments include avoiding fluids before bedtime and abstaining from alcohol and caffeine.
Nocturia is the need to get up several times during the night to urinate and can have many causes. Even when these are relatively benign, it can still be a difficult condition because it interferes with getting an adequate amount of sleep at night. People who frequently need to urinate during normal sleeping hours often sleep less soundly than they should and may show drowsiness or exhaustion during the day.
Normally, when we sleep at night, our urine becomes more concentrated, allowing us to sleep for six to eight hours without our bladder feeling uncomfortably full. When the bladder feels full, this signals the brain to wake up. Nocturia is the result of people and children having had bedwetting problems in the past. The fear of accidentally wetting the bed can make a person hypersensitive to any sense of fullness in the bladder.
Sometimes the causes of nocturia are simple and easy to treat. Drinking plenty of fluids before bed can cause occasional cases. This can be resolved by abstaining from fluids a few hours before bedtime and especially by avoiding alcohol or caffeine.
Some drugs can also cause nocturia. Diuretics, which help the body get rid of excess fluids, are a direct cause of the condition. This can be resolved by taking diuretics at different times of the day. You may need to take other medications, such as those for heart conditions and bipolar disorder, at specific times of the day. The importance of these drugs generally outweighs the side effects of nocturia.
Nocturia can be symptomatic of certain diseases or conditions. An infection of the bladder or kidneys can easily cause transient nocturia, but usually resolves with treatment with antibiotics. Both early and late pregnancy involve more frequent urination and resolve naturally when the pregnancy is over. Enlargement of the prostate gland results in more frequent cases of nocturia. Other times, nocturia indicates serious health conditions including diabetes, congestive heart failure, prostate cancer, or kidney failure.
Another serious cause of nocturia is sleep apnea. This is when a person stops breathing for several seconds, several times a night. This can translate into lighter sleep patterns and more of a sense that you should get up and use the bathroom.
Because nocturia can indicate some serious conditions, it is important to report nocturia to your doctor. Sometimes the cause is easily treated, but other times the condition can indicate significant health risks. What’s more, even the most benign cause can still prove dangerous when it results in daytime exhaustion or sleepiness. Lack of sleep is considered a high risk factor for accidents at work and while driving.
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