Frequent urination, defined as needing to urinate more than 7 times in 24 hours, can be caused by various factors. In this article, we will explore the possible reasons why you may be peeing every 1 hour and provide solutions to help reduce this frequency.
Causes of Frequent Urination
There are several potential causes of needing to urinate every hour:
- Urinary tract infection (UTI)
- Pregnancy
- Diabetes
- Chronic kidney disease
- Medications
- Caffeine or alcohol intake
- Anxiety or stress
- Enlarged prostate in men
- Interstitial cystitis
- Bladder cancer
Let’s explore each of these causes in more detail:
Urinary Tract Infection
A UTI is one of the most common causes of frequent urination. It occurs when bacteria enter the urinary tract and multiply, infecting the bladder and urethra. Typical UTI symptoms include:
- Need to urinate frequently, sometimes as often as every 10-15 minutes
- Urgency to urinate
- Burning sensation when urinating
- Cloudy, foul-smelling urine
- Pelvic pain or pressure
UTIs can usually be easily treated with a short course of antibiotics prescribed by your doctor. Be sure to drink plenty of fluids and urinate frequently to help flush out the infection.
Pregnancy
During pregnancy, frequent urination is very common. This is caused by:
- Increased blood flow to pelvic area
- Hormonal changes
- Physical pressure of expanding uterus on bladder
Pregnant women may need to urinate as often as every 20-30 minutes in the first trimester when these changes are most abrupt. Frequency tends to improve in the second and third trimesters. This symptom should resolve after giving birth.
Diabetes
Uncontrolled or undiagnosed diabetes can cause frequent urination due to excess glucose (sugar) building up in the blood. The kidneys respond by trying to filter out and excrete the extra glucose through the urine. This leads to larger than normal urine volumes.
Other diabetes symptoms include increased thirst, fatigue, blurry vision, slow healing cuts/bruises, and tingling hands/feet. See your doctor and get your blood sugar tested if you suspect you may have diabetes.
Chronic Kidney Disease
Chronic kidney disease impairs the kidneys’ ability to properly filter wastes from the blood. This can result in excessive urination as the kidneys try to excrete extra fluid buildup in the body. Other possible symptoms include:
- Fatigue
- Poor appetite
- Swollen legs/ankles
- Puffiness around eyes
- Dry, itchy skin
Kidney function tests can determine if kidney disease is responsible. Treatment involves managing the underlying condition causing the kidney disease.
Medications
There are some medications that have frequent urination as a side effect, including:
- Diuretics
- Blood pressure medications
- Antihistamines
- Antidepressants
- Chemotherapy drugs
- ADHD medications
Speak to your doctor if you think a new medication may be causing increased urinary frequency.
Caffeine and Alcohol
Beverages containing caffeine (coffee, tea, soda) and alcohol act as diuretics, meaning they increase urine production. Limiting intake, especially in the evenings, can help reduce urination frequency at night.
Anxiety or Stress
Mental health issues like anxiety, depression and stress can manifest physically as frequent urination. This is because anxiety creates muscle tension in the abdomen, compressing the bladder, while also acting directly on the bladder muscles to increase urge and frequency.
Techniques to control anxiety like counseling, meditation, exercise, relaxation techniques can help reduce related urinary symptoms.
Enlarged Prostate in Men
As men age, the prostate gland often enlarges and compresses the bladder and urethra, causing symptoms like:
- Frequent urination, especially at night
- Urgency to urinate
- Difficulty starting urination
- Incomplete bladder emptying
- Weak urine stream
Medications, minimally invasive therapies, or surgery may help shrink an enlarged prostate and provide relief.
Interstitial Cystitis
This chronic bladder condition causes bladder pressure, discomfort and pelvic pain that increases the urge to urinate frequently, up to 60 times a day in severe cases. Other typical symptoms include:
- Pelvic discomfort or pain
- Painful urination
- Urgency to urinate
While the exact cause is unknown, possible treatments include bladder training, physical therapy, medications, nerve stimulation, and others tailored to the individual.
Bladder Cancer
While rare, frequent urination can sometimes be a sign of bladder cancer. Other typical symptoms include:
- Presence of blood in urine
- Painful urination
- Low back pain
- Unexplained weight loss
See your doctor promptly if you notice any of these symptoms in addition to frequent urination. Bladder cancer is often detected and treated early before becoming advanced.
When to See Your Doctor
You should make an appointment with your doctor if:
- You need to urinate more than 8 times in 24 hours
- Urinary symptoms interfere with sleep or daily activities
- You experience painful urination, incontinence, or blood in urine
- Urinary symptoms are accompanied by nausea, back pain, fever or chills
- Symptoms persist longer than 1-2 days
A simple urine test can often pinpoint a UTI. Your doctor can also order bloodwork to check for diabetes and kidney function. Ultrasounds or other imaging provides detailed views of the bladder and urinary tract to assess for enlarged prostate, tumors, stones, obstructions, and other abnormalities.
Based on the suspected cause, your doctor will recommend the appropriate treatment to help manage your frequent urination.
Lifestyle Changes to Reduce Urinary Frequency
In addition to medical treatment where appropriate, try making these healthy lifestyle changes to help decrease urination to under 8 times daily:
- Increase fluid intake – Drink 6-8 glasses of water daily to dilute urine and reduce irritation that triggers urge to go.
- Limit caffeine and alcohol – These act as diuretics that increase urine output.
- Increase dietary fiber – Constipation can put pressure on bladder. Fiber helps keep bowel movements regular.
- Maintain healthy weight – Extra weight puts more pressure on bladder and can contribute to frequency.
- Practice Kegels – Strengthening pelvic floor muscles helps control urinary urgency and urges.
- Go when first urged – Holding urine too long can overstretch bladder muscle and increase urge to go.
- Use bathroom calming techniques – Such as deep breathing and distraction to retrain bladder urge response.
- Reduce anxiety – Counseling, relaxation skills, and other techniques to control stress levels.
- Wear cotton underwear – Cotton minimizes moisture and bacteria growth compared to synthetics.
- Avoid food irritants – Spicy foods, artificial sweeteners, citrus, and more can flare bladder issues.
Implementing these simple healthy habits can often significantly improve urinary frequency challenges.
When to Seek Medical Care
You should see your doctor promptly if frequent urination:
- Occurs suddenly and severely
- Is accompanied by fever, chills, vomiting, or other concerning symptoms
- Is interfering with your sleep and daily activities
- Persists after trying home treatment measures
Prolonged frequent urination can lead to complications like dehydration and urinary tract damage. So it’s important not to delay seeking medical care. Testing can determine if there is an infection, underlying condition, or other treatable cause that requires specific medical treatment.
Common Medical Treatments
Depending on the cause, possible medical treatments for frequent urination may include:
- Antibiotics – For UTIs or bladder infections.
- Medications – Such as alpha-blockers, antimuscarinics, desmopressin, mirabegron to help control bladder spasms, urgency, tone and excessive urine production.
- Prostate medications – Such as alpha-blockers, 5-alpha-reductase inhibitors to shrink enlarged prostate.
- Bladder instillations – Medications directly instilled into bladder through catheter to coat lining and/or numb nerves.
- Nerve stimulation – Electrical pulses to nerves of the lower back, pelvis or ankle to modify bladder signals.
- Bladder training – Timed voiding schedule to lengthen intervals between bathroom trips.
- Surgery – When there is enlarged prostate, bladder obstruction, pelvic organ prolapse, or other anatomical defects.
- Diet modification – To control glucose levels in diabetes, avoid irritating foods.
- Stress management – Counseling, relaxation techniques, meditation to reduce anxiety contributing to symptoms.
- Physical therapy – Exercises to strengthen pelvic muscles and promote proper bladder function.
The right treatment depends on your specific symptoms and underlying cause. Your doctor can help determine the most appropriate options to help control frequent urination.
Home Remedies to Try
There are some natural remedies that may provide relief of urinary symptoms when used in conjunction with any medical treatments:
- Increase water intake – Drinking 6-8 glasses helps dilute urine and reduce irritation.
- Avoid bladder irritants – Such as caffeine, alcohol, carbonation, artificial sweeteners, spicy foods.
- Take warm baths – Warm water can help soothe urgency discomfort and frequency.
- Apply heat packs – Heating pads or hot water bottles on lower abdomen provide soothing warmth.
- Drink herbal teas – Such as chamomile, valerian root, passionflower, lemon balm to reduce anxiety or nighttime trips.
- Take supplements – Quercetin, magnesium, Vitamin D, probiotics can aid bladder health.
- Do meditation – Quiets the mind, reduces anxiety and nerves impacting bladder.
- Use essential oils – Lavender, chamomile, sandalwood and frankincense promote relaxation.
- Try acupuncture – May help balance and regulate bladder function.
Always check with your doctor before taking any new supplements to ensure they won’t interact with other medications or conditions.
When to Seek Urgent Care
In some cases, frequent urination requires prompt medical attention at an urgent care or emergency room. Seek urgent care immediately if you experience:
- Inability to urinate at all
- Fever over 101°F (38.3°C) with urinary symptoms
- Back or flank pain that won’t resolve
- Weakness, numbness, paralysis of lower body
- Heavy bleeding or large blood clots in urine
These can indicate a serious infection, kidney stones, nerve damage or other complication requiring urgent evaluation and treatment.
When to Call a Doctor
You should call your doctor right away if you have:
- Sudden inability to urinate
- Cloudy, bloody urine or foul smell
- Burning pain with urination
- Low back, abdominal or pelvic pain
- Nausea, vomiting, chills with urinary symptoms
- Symptoms not improving within 1-2 days
Notify your doctor promptly about these more severe symptoms, which may indicate a kidney infection or other issue needing quick medical attention.
Conclusion
Frequent urination can be caused by common conditions like UTIs, pregnancy or enlarged prostate. Certain medications, foods and beverages, as well as mental health issues, can also contribute to excessive peeing.
See your doctor for evaluation if urinary frequency interferes with your daily life or persists after home treatment. Testing can diagnose any underlying condition, and appropriate medication, bladder training, stress management and other therapies can provide relief.
Incorporating healthy lifestyle measures like drinking enough fluids, bladder muscle exercises, proper bathroom habits and anxiety control can further help reduce excessive urinary frequency.
Monitor your symptoms closely and seek urgent care if you experience any signs of inability to urinate, infection, bleeding or other complications. Stay in touch with your doctor if problems continue despite treatment. With the right management plan, frequent urination can often be improved for a better quality of life.
