Nycturia

Alternative names

Nocturia; Urination - excessive at night

Definition

This symptom is a frequent need to urinate at night.

Considerations

It is normal for urine to decrease in amount and become more concentrated at night. Most people can sleep 6 to 8 hours without having to urinate. Middle aged or older men may normally have to urinate once in the early morning hours.

With nocturia, it is common to awaken one or more times during the night to urinate.

Common Causes

• Drinking too much fluid before bedtime - particularly coffee, caffeinated beverages, or alcohol
  
• Benign prostatic hyperplasia
  
• Diabetes
  
• Chronic or recurrent urinary tract infection
  
• Chronic renal failure
  
• Congestive heart failure
  
• Cystitis (acute urinary tract infection)
  
• Drugs such as diuretics, cardiac glycosides, demeclocycline, lithium, methoxyflurane, phenytoin, propoxyphene, and excessive vitamin D
  

Home Care
Keep a diary of how much fluid you drink, how often you urinate, and urine output. Record your body weight at the same times and on the same scale daily.

Call your health care provider if

• Excessive nighttime urination continues over several days, and is not explained by medications or increase of fluids before bedtime.
  
• You are bothered by the number of times you must urinate during the night.
  

What to expect at your health care provider's office
Your health care provider will perform a physical examination and ask questions about your nighttime urination, such as:

• When did it start?
  
• How many times does this occur each night?
  
• Has there been a change in the volume of urine produced?
  
• Do you ever have "accidents" or bed wetting?
  
• How much urine is voided each time?
  
• What makes the problem worse? Better?
  
• How much fluid do you drink before bedtime? Have you tried restricting fluids before bedtime?
  
• What other symptoms are also present? Do you have increased thirst, pain or burning on urination, fever, abdominal pain, or back pain?