Thirst - excessiveDefinition: Excessive thirst is an abnormal feeling of constantly needing to consume fluids.
Alternative Names: Increased thirst; Polydipsia; Excessive thirst
Considerations: Drinking lots of water is usually healthy. However, the urge to drink excessively beyond a certain limit may reflect an underlying disease, either physical or emotional. Excessive thirst may be a symptom of high blood sugar (hyperglycemia) and can be an important clue in detecting diabetes. Excessive thirst is a fairly common symptom and is often the reaction to fluid loss during exercise or intake of salty foods.
Common Causes: - A recent salty or spicy meal
- Excessive loss of water and salt (possibly due to water deprivation, profuse sweating, diarrhea, or vomiting)
- Diabetes mellitus
- Diabetes insipidus
- Drugs such as anticholinergics, demeclocycline, diuretics, phenothiazines
- Bleeding enough to cause a significant decrease in blood volume
- Loss of body fluids from the bloodstream to the tissues due to:
- Conditions such as severe infections (sepsis) or burns
- Heart, liver, or kidney failure
- Psychogenic polydipsia
Home Care: Because thirst is usually the body's signal to replace water loss, it is usually appropriate to drink plenty of liquids. Compulsive thirst may indicate a psychological cause, which may mean psychological help is required. For thirst caused by diabetes, follow prescribed therapy to properly control blood sugar levels.
Call your health care provider if: - Excessive thirst is persistent and unexplained.
- Thirst is accompanied by other unexplained symptoms such as blurry vision and fatigue.
- You are passing more than 5 quarts of urine per day.
What to expect at your health care provider's office: The health care provider will obtain your medical history and perform a physical examination. Medical history questions may include the following: - How long have you been aware of having increased thirst?
- Is it consistent during the day?
- Is it worse during the day?
- Did it develop suddenly or slowly?
- Has your intake of salty or spicy foods increased?
- How much salt do you consume each day?
- Have you changed your diet?
- Have you noticed an increased appetite?
- Have you noticed an unintentional weight gain?
- Have you noticed an unintentional weight loss?
- Has your activity level recently increased?
- What other symptoms are occurring at the same time?
- Has there been a recent burn or other injury?
- Have you noticed an increased or decreased frequency of urination?
- Have you noticed an increased or decreased amount of urine produced?
- Have you noticed bleeding?
- Have you noticed excessive sweating?
- Is there swelling?
- Is there a fever?
A psychological evaluation may be recommended if compulsive thirst of psychologic origin is suspected. Fluid intake and output will be closely monitored. Diagnostic tests that may be performed include the following:
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