What Is Urinary Frequency?

Normal adults urinate 4 to 6 times during the day and 0 to 2 times at night. Frequent urination can be physiological, neuropsychological, or one of the symptoms of many diseases. There are many reasons for frequent urination, including inflammation, foreign bodies, mental factors, physical weakness after illness, and parasitic diseases.

Basic Information

English name

frequent micturition

Visiting department

Urology

Common causes

Caused by inflammation, foreign body, mental factors, post-ill-health, parasitic disease, etc.

Common symptoms

Increased urination

Causes of frequent urination

1. frequent urination in men

(1) Increase in urine output When the urine output increases, the frequency of urination will increase accordingly. Under physiological conditions, such as drinking a lot of water, eating watermelon, and drinking beer, due to the increase in water intake, through the regulating effect of the kidney, the urine output increases, and the frequency of urination also increases, and frequent urination occurs. Pathological conditions, such as some patients with diabetes, diabetes insipidus drink more water, more urine, and more frequent urination, but no dysuria.

(2) Inflammation Stimulation When there is inflammation in the bladder, the urinary center is in a state of excitement, frequent urination, and decreased urine output. Therefore, frequent urination is an important symptom of cystitis, especially acute cystitis and tuberculous cystitis. Others such as prostatitis, urethritis, pyelonephritis, pediatric chronic penile head foreskinitis, vulvitis, etc. can occur frequent urination. Under the stimulus of inflammation, urinary frequency, urgency, and dysuria often appear at the same time, which is called urinary tract irritation, commonly known as "triuresis".

(3) Certain factors of dysuria , such as prostatitis, can cause excessive contraction of the urethral sphincter, resulting in obstruction of the bladder outlet and residual urine formation, causing urine to flow back into the prostate, which can not only bring pathogens into it, but also directly stimulate the prostate and induce Sterile "chemical prostatitis" causes abnormal urination and pain in the pelvic region. Many patients with prostatitis have multiple urodynamic changes, such as reduced urinary flow rate, functional urinary tract obstruction, and detrusor-urethral sphincter coordination disorders.

(4) Non-inflammatory stimuli such as urinary tract stones and foreign bodies are usually manifested by frequent urination.

(5) Decreased bladder capacity, such as bladder mass lesions, tuberculous bladder contractures, or larger bladder stones.

(6) Frequent psychiatric neuropathic urination is only seen during the day or before falling asleep at night. It is often mental stress or seen in rickets. At this time can also be accompanied by urgency, dysuria.

2. Frequent urination in women

There are many reasons for women's frequent urination, including reduced bladder volume, such as bladder mass lesions, increased uterine compression during pregnancy, tuberculous bladder contractures, or larger bladder stones.

(1) Frequent urination caused by psychoneuropathic factors usually manifests as "signs" of mental effects. Frequent urination caused by mental stress will not cause serious consequences to physical health. Frequent urination affects study, work, and rest. Psychotherapy and neuromodulation medications can be performed. In particular, some long-term, severe urinary frequency should be carefully examined, and can not be easily diagnosed as urinary frequency caused by mental nerves.

(2) Non-inflammatory stimuli such as urinary tract stones and foreign bodies.

(3) Inflammation and stimulation Acute cystitis, tuberculous cystitis, urethritis, pyelonephritis, vulvitis, etc. may also cause frequent urination. Under the stimulus of inflammation, frequent urination, urgency, and dysuria may occur at the same time, which is called urinary tract irritation.

(4) Decreased bladder capacity, such as bladder occupying lesions, increased uterine compression during pregnancy, tuberculous bladder contractures, or larger bladder stones.

3. Frequent urination in children

(1) Bad habits : Parents often urinate when their children are very young, and it is easy to form the habit of urinating without fullness of the bladder. Over time, the bladder has only a small amount of urine and will also have urine.

(2) Boys with foreskins that are too long and phimosis may cause frequent urination due to the residual urine in the foreskin capsule that stimulates the urethral opening.

(3) In addition to frequent urinary tract infections , there is pain during urination and sometimes fever.

(4) Some children with psychiatric factors may occasionally urinate once and get blamed. They worry that they will urinate in the future, so frequent urination occurs.

(5) Ascariasis Frequent urination due to ascariasis crawling to the urethral opening, more common in girls.

Frequent urination clinical manifestations

Non-inflammatory urinary frequency manifested as increased urination, but no pain. Under the stimulation of inflammation, urinary frequency, urgency, dysuria often appear at the same time, and sometimes there is fever.

Urinary frequency diagnosis

Physiological

It is normal for urination to increase during periods of stress or cold weather due to excessive drinking. It is characterized by a lot of urine output each time, and it is not accompanied by other symptoms such as frequent urgency.

2. pathological

The following situations are common:

(1) The frequency of polyuria frequent urination increases with a large amount of urine volume each time, and the total urine volume increases throughout the day. Found in diabetes, diabetes insipidus, polydipsia and polyuria in acute renal failure.

(2) Inflammatory urinary frequency and frequent urination with less urine output each time, often accompanied by urgency and dysuria. Urine microscopy showed inflammatory cells. Found in cystitis, urethritis, prostatitis, and paraurethral glanditis.

(3) Frequent urination and frequent urination with less urine output, without urinary dysuria, no inflammatory cells on urine microscopy. Found in central and peripheral neuropathies such as rickets, neurogenic bladder.

(4) Frequent urinary frequency with diminished bladder capacity is persistent urinary frequency, which is difficult to alleviate with drug treatment, and the urine output is small at a time. It is found in bladder occupying lesions; pregnant uterus enlargement or ovarian cysts compress the bladder; bladder tuberculosis causes fibrous constriction of the bladder.

(5) Lesions around the urethral opening, urethral polyps, hymen umbrella, and paraurethral gland cysts, which stimulate the urethral opening and cause frequent urination.

Frequent urination treatment

Treat symptomatically based on the cause of frequent urination.