Thirst - excessive

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Insulin production and diabetes

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Thirst - excessive

Excessive thirst is an abnormal feeling of constantly needing to consume fluids.

Drinking lots of water is usually healthy. However, the urge to drink excessively beyond a certain limit may reflect 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 and is often the reaction to fluid loss during exercise or intake of salty foods.

• A recent salty or spicy meal
• Excessive loss of water and salt (possibly due to water deprivation, profuse sweating, diarrhea, or vomiting)
• Diabetes mellitus
• Diabetes insipidus
• Drugs such as anticholinergics, demeclocycline, diuretics, phenothiazines
• Bleeding enough to cause a significant decrease in blood volume
• Loss of body fluids from the bloodstream to the tissues due to:
  • Conditions such as severe infections (sepsis) or burns
  • Heart, liver, or kidney failure
• Psychogenic polydipsia

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