Health Encyclopedia

Thirst - excessive

Definition

Excessive thirst is an abnormal feeling of always needing to drink fluids.

Alternative Names

Increased thirst; Polydipsia; Excessive thirst

Considerations

Drinking lots of water is usually healthy. However, the urge to drink too much beyond a certain limit may be the result of 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. It is often the reaction to fluid loss during exercise, or to eating salty foods.

Common Causes

A recent salty or spicy meal
Bleeding enough to cause a significant decrease in blood volume
Diabetes
Diabetes insipidus
Drugs such as anticholinergics, demeclocycline, diuretics, phenothiazines
Excessive loss of water and salt (possibly due to not drinking enough water, profuse sweating, diarrhea, or vomiting)
Loss of body fluids from the bloodstream into the tissues due to:
- Conditions such as severe infections (sepsis) or burns
- Heart, liver, or kidney failure
Psychogenic polydipsia, the result of a mental disorder, is a condition causes a person to drink too much

Home Care

Because thirst is usually the body's signal to replace water loss, it is usually appropriate to drink plenty of liquids.

A very strong, constant urge to drink may be a sign of a psychological problem, which may mean psychological help is needed.

For thirst caused by diabetes, follow the prescribed treatment 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 get 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?
Are you eating more salty or spicy foods?
How much salt do you have each day?
Did you change 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 happening at the same time?
Have you recently suffered a burn or other injury?
Are you urinating more or less frequently than usual?
Are you producing more or less urine than usual?
Have you noticed any bleeding?
Are you sweating more than usual?
Is there any swelling in your body?
Do you have a fever?

A psychological evaluation may be recommended if compulsive thirst of psychological origin is suspected. Fluid intake and output will be closely watched.

Diagnostic tests that may be performed include the following:

Review Date:1/18/2007
Reviewed By:Benjamin W. Van Voorhees, MD, MPH, Assistant Professor of Medicine and Pediatrics, The University of Chicago, Chicago, IL. Review provided by VeriMed Healthcare Network.

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