Do you feel like your mouth and throat are always dry so you need to reach for a glass of water all the time? That’s called polydipsia. No, it’s not a disease, but a symptom of an underlying problem. In layman’s terms, polydipsia is excessive thirst. Naturally, it also causes you to rush to the bathroom more often than normal to urinate.
Experts say that anything that causes an alteration in water or electrolytes in the body can leave you feeling thirsty. It is definitely not normal if you are taking sufficient amounts of fluids and the color of your pee is light yellow to clear but still have the strong urge to glug down more water. With such being the case, you should tell your doctor about it.
Here are some of the usual causes of polydipsia:
Dehydration
Certainly, your body will crave more water when it’s dehydrated — something that needs to be taken seriously as it can cause complications such as seizures, low blood pressure, kidney failure, coma and even death. Some of the most common causes of dehydration include vomiting, diarrhea and excessive sweating.
Diabetes
One of the telltale signs of diabetes is polydipsia. Excessive thirst happens when your body tries to get rid of excess sugar levels in the blood by flushing them via the kidneys, which results in increased urine output or what’s known in the world of medicine as polyuria. Definitely, it’s something that can leave you dehydrated and really thirsty.
Diabetes Insipidus
A rare form of disease, diabetes insipidus may be related to diabetes but it is a completely different problem. This condition is brought about by hormonal imbalance that affects the body’s ability to absorb water. Needless to say, it causes extreme thirst as the urine output is constantly increased.
Xerostomia
In layman’s terms, xerostomia is the abnormal dryness of the mouth. It is exactly for this reason why it seems like you are constantly craving water. There are all sorts of causes of xerostomia, and one of them is the inability of the salivary glands to produce enough saliva. Xerostomia results in other problems like bad breath and chewing difficulties.
Certain Medications
Are you currently taking medications prescribed by your doctor? Chances are that it’s the one to blame for your excessive thirst. Certain drugs are known to leave you feeling thirsty as it’s one of their common side effects. Some of these medications include those for allergies, dizziness and motion sickness.
Anemia
This blood condition characterized by insufficiency in oxygen-carrying red blood cells can leave you craving lots of water. Such is the body’s way to compensate for losing more red blood cells than it can produce. There are different types of anemia and the treatment for them varies.
Monthly Period
Especially if a woman’s menstruation is on the heavy side, one of the things that she might experience is polydipsia. This has something to do with the fact that she is losing a lot of blood during her period. Also, menstruation can also cause hormonal imbalance, leaving fluid volume in the body in a wreck.
Low Blood Pressure
When your body detects that the blood pressure is low, it will attempt to increase it by making you feel very thirsty. There are numerous causes of low blood pressure. Experts say that one of them is chronic stress, something that can cause a host of symptoms like anxiety, depression and dizziness, aside from excessive thirst.
Diuretic Foods
Certain foods can actually cause the kidneys to work harder, thus causing you to pee more and crave lots of water to replace lost fluids. Some examples of foods with diuretic properties are melons, parsley, asparagus and celery. Caffeinated drinks like coffee and tea can also make you urinate often.
