Frequent urination with diabetes

Diabetes is not an instantaneous disease. Its symptoms develop gradually. It is bad that many people often do not pay attention to the first signs or attribute them to other diseases. The diagnosis is made by a doctor, taking into account the patient’s complaints and the results of a blood sugar test. But the person himself may suspect diabetes mellitus at the first signs. And this leads to the diagnosis of the disease in the initial stage and effective treatment, which will help support the body and significantly improve the patient’s quality of life in the future. 

You need to know that babies urinate up to 20 – 22 times a day, and from three to four years old – from 5 to 9 times. This is the norm for children as well as adults. The frequency of emptying the bladder may increase in some cases. This is a symptom that indicates the presence of various diseases in a person. 

What is diabetes mellitus and what are its first symptoms?

Diabetes mellitus (popularly referred to as “sugar disease”) is an endocrine disease in which there is a long-term persistent excess of blood glucose. The disease is based on insufficient activity of the pancreatic hormone – insulin, which is responsible for the processing of glucose.

The first symptoms of the disease are as follows: 

• the appearance of frequent urination;
• intense thirst that is difficult to quench;
• rapid weight loss;
• an enduring feeling of fatigue and weakness;
• decreased visual acuity;

• causeless dizziness;
• itchy skin;
• feeling of dry mouth;
• heaviness in the legs;
• lowering body temperature.

Parents need to remember that diabetes can also develop in young children. And in them it is difficult to notice increased urination, especially if the baby is dressed in diapers. Attentive parents will notice increased thirst, poor weight gain, constant crying, and restless or passive behavior.

What physiological processes cause frequent urination?

There are two main reasons that explain the increased frequency of urination in this condition.

1. The first lies in the “desire” of the body to get rid of excess glucose. Very rarely, avoiding foods that increase the amount of daily urine can help. An intense thirst and a constant urge to urinate is a signal of high blood sugar that the kidneys cannot handle. The load on them increases, the body tries to get more fluid from the blood to dissolve glucose. All this affects the bladder: it is constantly full.
2. The second reason is damage due to the developing disease of the nerve endings, and the tone of the bladder gradually decreases, which becomes irreversible.

If not diabetes, then what else could it be?

An increase in the frequency of urination often indicates not only the presence of diabetes mellitus, but also serves as a symptom of other diseases, such as:

• the development of cardiovascular failure;
• the presence of a prostate tumor in men;
• various injuries of the pelvic floor;
• cystitis, pyelonephritis;
• stones in the kidneys;
• chronic renal failure.

Also, frequent urination can provoke the use of large amounts of water, drinks in the hot season, foods that have a diuretic effect (watermelon, cranberries, and others) and diuretic drugs. During pregnancy, women begin to urinate more often, as the growing unborn baby puts pressure on the mother’s bladder.

How to cure frequent urination?

In order to solve this problem, you should, first of all, find out the root cause of this condition. Treatment methods will depend on the correctly identified cause.

If a person develops the above symptoms, he should consult a family doctor-general practitioner or an endocrinologist. These doctors will talk about the dietary habits of diabetics, recommend diet and exercise, and prescribe medications if necessary.

At an early stage of the disease, a set of therapeutic exercises can help restore tone to the organs of the genitourinary system. It must be remembered that the risk of developing the disease increases if a person is overweight, as well as if close relatives have diabetes.