Frequent Urination

Key takeaways

• Frequent urination is when you urinate more often than usual.
• Frequent urination could be caused by a bladder or urinary tract related condition or be a sign of an underlying health condition such as diabetes or prostate or kidney related diseases.
• Treatment options depend on what is causing increased frequency.

Overview

What is frequent urination?

Frequent urination is when you feel the urge to urinate more often than is normal to you. Urinating is how the body removes waste fluids. Urine –– which contains water, uric acid, urea, and toxins –– stays in the bladder until it gets full and then gets released from the body.

Normal urinary frequency varies from person-to-person; however, most people urinate 6 to 7 times per day. Urinating 8 or more times a day may be considered frequent urination.

Other names for frequent urination:

Dysuria, urinary frequency, nocturia (frequent need to urinate at night)

What are the symptoms of frequent urination?

The main symptom of frequent urination is needing to urinate more often without increasing your urine output. In other words, if you take in more fluids, more frequent trips to the bathroom may be normal. But, if you’re continuously urinating all day without taking in more fluids, that’s a sign that something might be off

Other symptoms may include:

• Urinary urgency (a sudden strong need to urinate or the inability to postpone urination)
• Urinary incontinence (leaking urine)
• Nocturia (waking up multiple times at night to urinate

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Possible Causes

What can cause frequent urination?

Frequent urination is a common symptom of conditions related to the bladder and urinary tract. It can also be a side effect to certain medications. Some common causes of frequent urination include:

• Urinary tract infection
• Overactive bladder
• Consuming excessive amounts of caffeine, alcohol, nicotine, or artificial sweetener
• Changes in muscles, nerves or other tissues affecting bladder function
• Anxiety
• Medicines such as water pills (diuretics)
• Interstitial cystitis (painful and noninfectious bladder condition)
• Bladder cancer

It can also be a sign of an underlying health condition such as:

• Diabetes
• Stroke or other brain or nervous system conditions
• Nerve or spine related problems
• Tumor or growth in the pelvis
• Kidney conditions such as kidney stones or other kidney infections

Female-specific causes

Because the female urethra is shorter, bacteria has less distance to travel before they can infect the urinary tract. This results in a higher rate of urinary tract infections (UTIs) for people assigned female at birth. Other common causes that can result in frequent urination for females include:

• Swelling and infection of the urethra
• Vaginosis (infection or inflammation of the vulva and vagina)
• Pregnancy
• Pelvic floor dysfunction
• Fibroids (muscular tumors that grow in the wall of the uterus)
• Low estrogen levels (potentially related to menopause)
• Ovarian cancer

Male-specific causes

Conditions that affect the prostate may cause frequent urination in people assigned male at birth. These conditions include:

• Enlarged prostate
• Prostatitis (an inflammatory condition often caused by bacterial infection
• Prostate cancer

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Treatment & management

How is frequent urination treated?

Treatment options depend on what is causing the frequent urination. Work with your health care provider to identify and treat the cause of the problem.

Some tips to help manage frequent urination:

• Monitor your fluid intake
• Avoid drinking too many fluids before bed
• Limit alcohol or caffeine
• Try pelvic floor therapy

It is important to work with a health care provider to determine the cause of your frequent urination so that it can be treated appropriately.

MinuteClinic offers a variety of services that can help with diagnosis and treatment.

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When to seek medical care

Call your provider as soon as possible if:

• You have frequent urination along with any of these symptoms:
  • Pain or burning during urination
  • Strong-smelling urine
  • Cloudy urine or blood in urine
  • Discharge from the penis or vagina
  • Loss of bladder control (or incontinence)
  • Lower abdominal pain
  • Fever, back or side pain, vomiting or shaking chills
  • Increased thirst or appetite
  • Sudden weight loss
• There's no apparent cause, such as drinking more total fluids, alcohol or caffeine
• The problem disrupts your sleep or everyday activities

In general, if you are concerned about your frequent urination, check in with a health care provider. You can find a variety of services at a MinuteClinic near you.

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This material is for reference only and should not be used to determine treatment for specific medical conditions.

Please visit a healthcare provider for evaluation, diagnosis, and treatment of any symptoms you may be experiencing. If you're experiencing a medical emergency, please dial 911 or visit your local Emergency Department.

References used as sources for this page

1. Frequent Urination: Causes in Women, Men, and More. Available at: https://www.healthline.com/health/overactive-bladder/frequent-urination-women#diagnosis-and-tests. (Accessed September 21, 2022)
2. Frequent urination: Causes, symptoms, and when to see a doctor. Available at: https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/70782. (Accessed September 21, 2022)
3. Frequent urination When to see a doctor - MayoClinic. Available at: https://www.mayoclinic.org/symptoms/frequent-urination/basics/when-to-see-doctor/sym-20050712. (Accessed September 21, 2022)
4. Frequent Urination – Symptoms and Causes. Available at: https://www.pennmedicine.org/for-patients-and-visitors/patient-information/conditions-treated-a-to-z/frequent-urination. (Accessed September 21, 2022)

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