Frequent Urination

What Is It?

Urinary frequency is the need to urinate often during the daytime. Most individuals urinate every 4-5 hours during the day. Urination more frequently than every 3 hours during the day may become bothersome to some individuals.

Symptoms of Frequent Urination

Usually, individuals complain about frequent urination if they are going to the bathroom every 3 hours or less. Often times, the symptoms of urinary frequency are associated with other urinary symptoms such as:

• Urgency
• Urinary incontinence or involuntary leakage of urine
• Nocturia or nighttime urinary frequency
• Dysuria or painful urination

Causes

The causes of urinary frequency are many and include chronic diseases such as diabetes mellitus and neurologic disease, benign prostate enlargement (BPH), prostatitis (infection of the prostate), or prostate cancer, urinary tract infection, overactive bladder, interstitial cystitis, and bladder cancer (rarely).

Evaluation and Treatment

Based on other symptoms, your urologist will make treatment recommendations based on the likely cause of the urinary frequency.

Often times, dietary modification (decrease caffeine), fluid restriction, and other conservative measures will help lessen this bothersome condition.

Medications are often prescribed when conservative measures fail and are effective in decreasing the frequency of urination. Outpatient surgery may be indicated if cases where there is a blockage and medications fail to resolve this condition (benign prostate enlargement/BPH, prostate cancer).