Battling the dreaded winter cold is nothing new! With the temperature dropping even more, the urge to stay under the blanket, pile on layers and sit down with a hot cuppa brew is all too exciting. Just when you settle in (and think about never having to move), you feel like your bladder will burst. Sounds a little familiar?
Let's face it. Taking trips to the bathroom and getting off all those comfy layers you are wearing feels atrocious. But, attending to your urges is also
important. Despite the fact that we tend to (or think) that we drink a lot less water during the cold season, we feel the urge to pee more. Well, it is not just your any mind game but as it turns out, there is an actual scientific explanation behind this.
Why you pee more in the wintertime
This phenomenon happens to a lot of people and it has a lot to do with how nature interacts with our body's anatomy. It is actually a psychological reaction termed as "cold-induced diuresis", where the cold does actually push you to urinate more. This is because our bodies are habitual to temperatures between 36-37 degrees Celcius, but during extreme winters, the cold temperatures make you shiver, force the blood vessels to contract, bringing in more blood flow in the organs and raising pressure.
This blood flow gushes to all vital organs, including the kidneys. This process is called vasoconstriction. Instead of purging out the usual amount of waste, your kidneys are forced to do a lot more work, filter out more waste than normal and hence, make you visit the bathroom more frequently. A full bladder is another way that your body loses heat, so urinating immediately helps preserve your core warmth. In fact, facing extreme temperatures can also trigger the body's flight or fight response, which can induce more pressure on your nerves connected to the bladder, something which also happens when the body experiences stress.
Compared to this winter syndrome, some people tend to pee less during the summertime, when your blood vessels can dilate and make you pee less often. However, this is not always the case.
According to doctors, it is nothing to worry about. Instead, it is a cheeky little way your body protects you against the cold. However, more-than-frequent trips can also be a sign of hypothermia, when your body lets out more heat than it can produce. If you are accompanied by other tell-tale signs (like extensive shivering, breathing trouble, and weak pulse), you should rush to a doctor, as soon as possible. The only possible way to cut down on your frequent trips and battle diuresis is to maintain warmth naturally is by engaging in physical activity.
Otherwise, it is just better to beat the lethargy and visit the loo. After all, holding your pee in, can cause more health trouble and make you experience unpleasant symptoms.
December 05, 2017
The urgent need to urinate frequently can really hamper your quality of life.
“It makes it difficult to take trips, make it through dinner, be part of a social event, attend a play or get through the grocery store,” urologist Irina Jaeger MD, says.
Urinary frequency affects about 33 million American adults. Approximately 30 percent of men and 40 percent of women experience it at some point in their lives.
The chances of developing urinary frequency increase with age, especially when men develop enlarged prostates and women pass menopause.
Why You Might Need to Urinate More
Here are eight reasons, according to Dr. Jaeger, that you may be running to the bathroom more often than you’d like:
- Overactive bladder. This is the most common culprit. It’s marked by the need to urinate more than eight times during the day, waking up more than once a night to pee and frequently losing bladder control before reaching the toilet.
- Enlarged prostate. This may occur in men as early as age 40 and may be accompanied by a slow urinary stream and the inability to empty the bladder completely.
- Diabetes. Elevated blood sugar can increase thirst, causing you to drink often and, consequently, void frequently.
- Stroke. “The bladder is controlled by the brain, so it’s very common to see a stroke’s side effects manifest through bladder frequency,” Dr. Jaeger says.
- Interstitial cystitis. This condition, which affects women, is marked by a frequent need to urinate that is accompanied by bladder pain and a distended bladder. Relief often occurs following urination.
- High fluid intake or dietary triggers. It stands to reason that if you drink a lot, you’re going to pee a lot. But your bladder alsocan become overstimulated by caffeine, citrus fruits and other acids, chocolate, artificial sweeteners, alcohol and spicy foods.
- Urinary tract infection. Symptoms may include blood in the urine, passing small amounts of urine despite a feeling of urgency, burning or pelvic pain.
- Bladder cancer. This is rare, so don’t panic if you find your trips to the bathroom are increasing, Dr. Jaeger says.
What You Can Do About Frequent Urination
Fortunately, most instances of urinary frequency or incontinence don’t pose a health risk and, depending on the cause and severity, may be treated by:
- Lifestyle changes that include decreasing fluid intake, limiting bothersome foods and beverages and giving up cigarettes
- Urge-suppression and kegel exercises
- Medications
- Minimally invasive prostate procedures, which open the prostate to unblock the urethra
- Botox for the bladder, which lasts up to six months
- Spinal cord stimulators, in which implanted electrodes stimulate the spinal cord to control the squeezing of the bladder
- Diabetes medications
“Everybody has a different threshold of what’s bothersome, so you should see a urologist when the symptoms are getting in the way,” Dr. Jaeger says, adding it’s important to call a doctor immediately if you have blood in your urine, experience burning while voiding or can’t empty your bladder completely.
Related Links
At University Hospitals, our experts work with you to determine the cause of urinary incontinence and develop the best plan of treatment for you. Learn more.