Thirst - excessive

Injury	Disease	Nutrition	Poison

Symptoms	Surgery	Test	Special Topic

Insulin production and diabetes

Overview

Treatment

Thirst - excessive

Alternative Names:

Increased thirst; Polydipsia; Excessive thirst
Home Care:

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

Compulsive thirst may indicate a psychological cause, which may mean psychological help is required.

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For thirst caused by diabetes, follow prescribed therapy 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 obtain 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?
Has your intake of salty or spicy foods increased?
How much salt do you consume each day?
Have you changed 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 occurring at the same time?
Has there been a recent burn or other injury?
Have you noticed an increased or decreased frequency of urination?
Have you noticed an increased or decreased amount of urine produced?
Have you noticed bleeding?
Have you noticed excessive sweating?
Is there swelling?
Is there a fever?

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

Diagnostic tests that may be performed include the following: