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Urine, or more specifically, the urinary tract is one of the body’s systems that presents the most problems with performance, whether due to urinary infections, diseases and other factors, such as frequency . If this is your case, but you do not have all the details, we will show you below in greater depth.

Urinating is one of the most natural actions performed by human beings , as well as relaxing; especially if they have resisted the desire or there is a long way to go before the toilet. In addition, it is a normal cleaning method for the body to eliminate toxins and bacteria in this way. Therefore, health in this aspect plays a determining role.

What is frequency and definition?

Are you one of the people who visits the bathroom many times to urinate? If the answer is positive, you could be facing a frequency, which is nothing more than the need to urinate repeatedly, throughout the day . But, with the differentiation that the volumes of urine are usually normal or less than what you regularly expel. The alarming thing about this pathology is that urine secretion is generally accompanied by an almost unbearable sense of urgency .

Causes of frequency

The motives or reasons that can lead an organism to suffer from frequency can be very different depending on the case of each patient. But, in most cases these are disorders of the lower urinary tract, as well as inflammation of the bladder or when the urethra causes an uncontrollable urination sensation, which does not stop after urination, but persists in the affected patient prompting him to continue urinating even in small amounts.

These are the most common causes of frequency :

1. Urinary infections : It is an infectious focus that, through bacteria, exerts pressure or alters the normal functioning of the entire urinary system , causing a difference in the number of urinations per day. Once it is diagnosed and routine tests are performed in a laboratory, it is common for the presence of some bacteria to be detected, among other regular details.
2. Cystitis : It is nothing more than an inflammatory process of the bladder, which may contain some type of infection and is considered one of the most common reasons that cause frequency.
3. Prostate diseases: It can be several urological conditions, such as infections, inflammation of some organs of the urinary tract, enlargement of the prostate, for example, or cancerous tumors in the prostate , and any of them may be responsible for you suffer from frequency.
4. Diabetes : Faced with a disease like this, frequency is the fastest symptom to appear, and therefore the first reason why many decide to go for a medical check-up. It is usually first diagnosed as polyuria, but later it transforms into frequency due to problems with urine filtration.
5. Pregnancy: Women in the process of pregnancy have a strong desire to urinate during the middle of pregnancy onwards, this due to the force generated by the fetus on the organs of the urinary system, which encourages visiting the bathroom several times a day.
6. Alterations of the nervous system : cerebrovascular ischemic or hemorrhagic diseases can contribute to the occurrence of urinary frequency. This is due to possible cellular damage in areas of the brain, responsible for the production and release of hormones and neurotransmitters that drive the urination process. Like other pathologies such as anxiety and depression.

It is also possible that it is generated by other circumstances such as the following:

• Cystocele.
• Consumption of some medications or beverages such as caffeine, alcohol, and diuretics.
• Prostatitis .
• Reactive arthritis .
• Radiation cystitis.
• Spinal cord injury.
• Hyperactivity of the bladder detrusor.
• Urethral stricture.

What are the symptoms of frequency?

Like most urinary conditions, you may find symptoms that will serve as an alert to proceed with a timely diagnosis and visit the specialist as soon as possible. Now, it should be noted that frequency as such is a symptom, as it is part of the elements of pathologies already mentioned . But, there are some important things that can tell you that something is wrong. Some of them are the following:

• Increased urination frequency: There is a noticeable increase in the number of urinations, which is why some doctors consider that going to the bathroom 8 times a day or more, to urinate, is immediately a case of frequency.
• Decreased diuresis : Although there is an increase in the number of times you go to the bathroom to urinate, it does not mean that the amounts of urine are extremely excessive in liters; the opposite happens. This is because little urine is released during repeated trips to the bathroom.
• Nightlife: Another striking aspect that generally makes patients very uncomfortable is that urination occurs more frequently at night. Therefore, this condition is known as nocturnal frequency.
• Concomitants: Frequency is usually accompanied by other urinary symptoms such as the painful expulsion of urine, the urgent need to urinate even when the bladder has already emptied. There may also be the presence of blood in the urine, high fever , chills, and abdominal pain.

How is the diagnosis?

Before applying a treatment, it is important to carry out a thorough diagnosis to determine the main causes of the problem and then treat it effectively . You will see the step by step of this diagnosis below:

• Know a history of any current illness

It is necessary to have a recorded control of the amounts of fluids that have been consumed and those that have been discarded through urine , because in this way it will be possible to differentiate between frequency or polyuria.

In the case of presenting the first case, the patient must disclose if the problem appeared suddenly or was gradually, if there are irritable or obstruction symptoms such as difficulty starting urination or having a weak urine stream, as well as the sexual contact you have made.

• Symptom review

Know the presence of noticeable symptoms that could suggest a cause, such as fever, low back or groin pain, infections , absence of the menstrual cycle, breast swelling, pregnancy status, arthritis or reactive arthritis.

• Personal history

It is relevant to know if the patient suffers from any prostate disease, has undergone any treatment with radiotherapy or pelvic surgery. Likewise, record if the patient is on a current medication or if he maintains a specific diet to detect possible reasons that cause increased diuresis, such as the intake of diuretics, alcoholic or caffeinated beverages.

• Physical exam

This evaluation is carried out specifically in the urogenital apparatus, in that visualization some secretion or lesions that may correspond to sexually transmitted diseases should be noted. For men, the digital rectal exam will be able to determine the size and consistency of the prostate . And for women, gynecological evaluation should look for the presence of cystocele.

In addition, it is very beneficial to palpate the lumbar fossa to find out if there is tenderness or pain in the area, as well as an abdominal examination to notice the presence of masses . Also, a neurological evaluation may be performed to record weakness or loss of sensation in the lower limbs.

To reinforce each of these medical tests, it is necessary that all patients with the threat of frequency be studied with urinalysis and urine cultures , which are extremely practical to perform and allow infection to be detected almost immediately.

Treatment of frequency

You must be very clear that the medical treatment used will depend primarily on the diagnosis, so it can vary from one patient to another, since the causes are diverse. And although frequency is not treated in a specific and particular way, but its etiology, there are general therapeutic treatments that allow to alleviate urine disorders.

1. Antibiotics: Since urinary tract infections are the main causes of frequency, it is evident that by treating them directly, there will be an improvement in symptoms. The germs that are involved in this type of urinary tract infections are usually bacteria, which respond positively to the intake of antibiotics duly prescribed by the specialist.
2. Pharmacological treatments: Maintaining a close control of glycemia in diabetic patients is essential to avoid frequency. Hence, insulin is a useful drug to control this condition.
3. Surgery: It is usually resorted to in the presence of some types of prostate cancer when the response to primary therapy is inadequate or when it is part of the oncological protocol for the disease.
4. Practices or exercises: When it comes to overactive bladder it can be managed with medications, such as tolterodine or imipramine, but bladder retraining is also very important, which is where the patient must learn to urinate again.

Can children suffer from frequency?

Actually yes, not only adults, children can also suffer from frequency and it generally occurs in infants between the ages of 4 and 8 years old , who always express to their parents the urgent need to go to the bathroom to urinate, regardless of the place or time. This undoubtedly affects their social development in daily activities and even in school performance.

Although the causes can vary from one child to another, many specialists attribute the causes to psychological reasons, which come to the fore in the face of the possible pressure exerted by many representatives while teaching children to go to the bathroom and control their sphincters. Therefore , treatment is based on behavioral therapy, adequate training, and the removal of pressures on the infant.

Polyuria and frequency

In most cases these 2 terms are often confused, but they turn out to be the opposite. You already know that frequency is directly about the need to urinate repeatedly, during the day or at night . But, with the differentiation that the volumes of urine are usually normal or much lower than what you regularly expel. What is alarming about this pathology is that urine secretion is generally accompanied by an almost unbearable sense of urgency .

Now, polyuria is briefly defined as the abundant and excessive excretion of urine during a day, where those amounts of urine can exceed 2.5 liters . However, this can vary and depend on how much liquid is consumed or the levels of water in the body.

So this is a completely different problem than having to go to the bathroom too often. Even the fact of suffering from frequency and urinating very often does not mean that at the end of the day more than 2 liters of urine have been released ; On the contrary, the amounts of rust are much lower.

The similarity of one pathology with the other is presented by how the affected people detect it, since it regularly happens when they must get up during the night to go to the bathroom. Now, what will differentiate each problem will be the type of urination you have , if it is very abundant it will be a polyuria, but if it is a weak jet and in small quantities, you would be facing a case of frequency.

In the case of polyuria, the most common causes are the following :

1. Diabetes insipidus
2. Mellitus diabetes.
3. Drinking excessive amounts of water

Because urinary infections are one of the main causes: How to avoid them? Pay attention and these are the things you should not do:

1. Do not wash your genitals with soap: Both female and male genitalia perform their own cleaning independently and automatically, in addition they have an exclusive pH different from the rest of the body, so by including soap, they would be modifying their pH and opening the doors to a possible urinary infection . Washing should be done only with water or specialized soaps.
2. Do not promote humidity: This should be a normal one, not only after bathing, but also when you go to the bathroom, since when there is some moisture left on your genitals there are more chances that more bacteria will agglomerate than normally exist and cause an infectious focus.
3. Not cleaning properly: All genitalia have bacteria, typical of the body that remain after expelling some in a urination. But, the anus tends to be a center of bacteria that come from the intestine, which could touch your genitals if you perform an incorrect cleaning, from front to back, for example.
4. Do not drink water: It is recommended to drink up to 3 liters of water a day, as this will contribute to the elimination of toxins and subsequently dispose of them through urine. One of the methods that will help you verify that you are doing it well, is to check the color of your urine, if it is in a light or transparent tone, you are hydrating correctly.
5. Do not go to the bathroom after sexual intercourse: If you take the initiative to urinate after having sexual intercourse, you will allow the urine to carry all waste and bacteria that may have entered your body during urination.
6. Do not wear tight synthetic fabric underwear: This type of fabric, such as lycra, are fabrics that attract a lot of moisture, and also absorb it easily, so they should be avoided to ward off bacteria, and therefore infections . The same measurements should also be taken with clothing that is too tight or tight.