I want to drink a lot of water girl. Causes of Constant Thirst and Dry Mouth

We often do not pay attention to the signals that our body sends, warning of danger. For example, a person is constantly thirsty. Endocrinologist Anatoly Begunov tells about what this may be connected with and what needs to be done.

Not enough liquid

Distinctive features: the mucous membrane of the mouth dries up, facial features are sharpened and eyes sink. The skin becomes flabby - if you take it into a fold and release it, then it does not immediately straighten out. The fact is that the kidneys begin to save precious moisture, so a person urinates rarely and little by little. Naturally, thirst appears - a kind of protective mechanism that saves the body from dehydration.

Exit: in the heat, during physical exertion, blood loss, burns, vomiting and diarrhea, profuse sweating due to high body temperature, you need to drink more. Naturally, as soon as the water balance in the body is restored, such a "protective" thirst immediately disappears.

The culprit is diabetes

Constant thirst can be caused by an imbalance of hormones that coordinate water-salt metabolism. So, in diabetes, excess sugar in the blood dramatically increases the amount of urine excreted. Distinguishing features: a person drinks a lot, but he is still thirsty. The appearance of thirst in a diabetic receiving insulin or sugar-lowering drugs indicates an exacerbation of the disease. Solution: you need to take blood sugar tests and immediately start taking glucose-lowering drugs.

brain injury

Sometimes intense thirst occurs after brain injuries or neurosurgical operations. Distinctive features: the disease almost always begins acutely, the patient can indicate not only the fateful day, but even the hour. diabetes insipidus develops. At the same time, patients drink ten and twenty liters of water per day. It's all about the deficiency of hormones that limit urination. The reasons for this violation have not been fully elucidated. Sometimes this disease is inherited. Solution: contact a neurologist.

Excess hormones

With increased function of the parathyroid glands, thirst also comes to the fore. Distinctive features: teeth fall out, bone pains are felt, fatigue is tormented, muscle weakness and sudden weight loss. Calcium leached from the bones turns the urine white. Exit: treatment by an endocrinologist is required.

sick kidneys

Affected kidneys lose their ability to retain water, resulting in an increased need for fluid. Thirst occurs with pyelonephritis, glomerulonephritis, hydronephrosis and polycystic kidney disease. Distinguishing features: Thirst persists even when the amount of urine excreted decreases and edema appears. In this case, thirst indicates an existing renal failure. Unfortunately, this most dangerous condition is often detected too late, when only hemodialysis or kidney transplantation can help the patient. Therefore, in time to pay attention to thirst means to save the kidneys from further destruction. Solution: contact a nephrologist.

Taking medications

Clonidine, a well-known drug for lowering blood pressure, causes dry mouth, as a result of which patients drink a lot. And with hypertension, it is harmful, and treatment loses its meaning. Solution: consult a cardiologist and replace diuretic drugs with others.

Unknown thirst

This nasty disease affects mainly women.

Distinctive features: a tendency to whims, irritability and conflict is added. Solution: try to trick your body. For example, lean towards the water and make a few swallowing movements. Or scoop up a mug of salty sea water and pretend to get drunk with it. If the water is clear, you can wet your lips with it. This is enough for our brain to be deceived and for some time experience a sense of satisfaction from quenching thirst.

From a physiological point of view, strong thirst or polydipsia is the body's response to a violation of the ratio of water and various salts contained in its tissues. A high concentration of salts in the blood plasma and tissue fluid adversely affects the osmotic pressure, which ensures the shape of the cells and their normal functioning. As a result, skin elasticity is lost, facial features become sharper, a person may be disturbed and. Therefore, the lack of fluid in the cells causes a very strong desire of the body to restore the water balance.

The feeling of unquenchable thirst or polydipsia decreases or disappears when drinking large volumes of water - more than two liters per day (for an adult).

Causes of intense thirst

Polydipsia occurs due to the intense activation of the drinking center located in the brain. This, as a rule, can be caused by physiological or pathological causes.

Physiological causes of extreme thirst include:

1. Increased loss of water through sweat during intense exercise or heat.
2. with , accompanied by .
3. the body by the breakdown products of alcohol, for the natural withdrawal (through the kidneys) of which a large amount of water is required.
4. Too dry air in the room, because of which the body has to lose moisture. This situation usually occurs during the heating season and during the operation of air conditioners. You can solve the problem of normalizing humidity with the help of indoor plants that increase the level of moisture in the room.
5. The use of spicy, salty or smoked foods, as well as the abuse of coffee and sweet soda.
6. Consumption of water with an insufficient content of mineral salts, the so-called soft water. It is thanks to mineral salts that the body absorbs and retains water better. Therefore, it is advisable to choose mineral waters of the sodium chloride group with a sufficient salt content for drinking.
7. The consumption of water with excessive salt content also negatively affects the body's water balance, since salt in excess prevents cells from absorbing water.
8. Eating foods and drinks that have diuretic properties. These foods cause dehydration and a strong desire to drink.

If the physiological causes of polydipsia are excluded at least for a while, but the feeling of thirst does not stop, you should immediately contact a therapist and undergo all the necessary studies, since the causes of this problem may be pathological.

Pathological causes of polydipsia include:

1. Development , which at first is always accompanied by frequent and copious excretion of urine, which in turn dehydrates the body and causes thirst. The following accompanying symptoms may also indicate the development of this disease: skin itching, recurrent, sudden weight gain.
2. - disruption of the endocrine system, which is accompanied by an intensive excretion of water through the kidneys (several liters of light-colored urine per day). With this problem, you should consult an endocrinologist. The main reasons for the development of diabetes insipidus are neurosurgical interventions or brain injuries.
3. hyperparathyroidism- violation of the parathyroid glands, in which calcium is washed out of the bone tissue. And since calcium is osmotically active, it “takes” water with it. Other symptoms may indicate the development of this endocrine disease:
   • urine is white;
   • sudden weight loss;
   • muscle weakness;
   • increased fatigue;
   • pain in the legs;
   • early tooth loss.
4. , which are usually accompanied by swelling, dry mouth, problem urination. Sick kidneys are not able to retain in the body the volumes of water necessary for its full-fledged life. Most often, the kidneys suffer from disorders such as acute and chronic, primary and secondary wrinkled kidney, hydronephrosis and.
5. Chronic and nervous strain, as well as more serious mental disorders(compulsive states, ). Mental problems can provoke a violation of the thirst regulation center, which is located in the hypothalamus. According to statistics, this cause of intense thirst is most often encountered by women. As a rule, the development of a mental disorder can be indicated simultaneously with an unquenchable desire to drink and symptoms such as tearfulness and irritability.
6. , and other focal lesions and brain injuries, which can disrupt the work of the hypothalamus, which is responsible for the central regulation of thirst.
7. Pathological problems with the gastrointestinal tract (GIT), accompanied by constant hidden bleeding, due to which there is often a feeling of thirst. Most often, polydipsia is caused by an intestinal tumor, etc. To diagnose the presence of hidden bleeding, first of all, you need to pass.
8. Generalized- increased sweating of a pathological nature. This disorder may indicate the development of diseases such as:
   • thyrotoxicosis;
   • pathological;
   • other disorders of the endocrine system.

Increased non-physiological sweating is the reason for a visit to the endocrinologist.

Diseases that may be indicated by the presence of intense thirst in combination with nausea

Most often, these symptoms are associated with:

• overeating;
• diet mistakes.

In addition, the combination of polydipsia and nausea may indicate diseases, the development of which causes other accompanying symptoms:

1. A white coating on the tongue, and bitterness in the mouth may indicate disorders in the gallbladder (, or). The same symptoms may occur during the use of some and.
2. , metallic in combination with and thirst can be disturbing with inflammation of the gums.
3. Heartburn, a feeling of fullness and pain in the stomach may indicate the development of gastritis of the stomach.
4. Violation of the body's water balance and dry mouth, bitterness, white or yellow plaque on the tongue indicate a violation of the thyroid gland.
5. Nausea, polydipsia, in combination with other painful symptoms in the gastrointestinal tract, may indicate the development of diseases of the central nervous system (, neurotic disorders).

It is important to understand that if thirst and nausea bother you for several days, you cannot cope without medical help. You should consult a doctor who will professionally assess the associated symptoms; pass all the necessary tests and undergo a series of diagnostic studies. All these activities will help determine what kind of pathology you are suffering from.

Intense thirst and drugs

It is worth noting that polydipsia can be caused by taking medications that help remove moisture from the body. It can be:

• antibiotics;
• antihistamines;
• diuretics and drugs for weight loss;
• expectorants.

In addition, some medications can cause increased sweating and thirst (for example,), which is usually indicated in the list of their side effects.

Among the popular drugs that make many patients thirsty are Metformin, an antidiabetic agent used in the treatment of:

1. Diabetes mellitus type 1 and 2.
2. Impaired glucose tolerance.
3. Gynecological diseases.
4. Endocrinological disorders.

Also, this drug is used to normalize body weight, since its active substance reduces insulin production, significantly reducing appetite. During the use of Metformin, a carbohydrate-free diet should be followed, otherwise side effects from the gastrointestinal tract are possible - nausea, vomiting, loose stools, metallic taste in the mouth.

It is important to understand that with a competent approach to the use of Metformin, in compliance with all the recommendations specified in the instructions for this drug, any side effects are excluded, including dehydration and thirst.

Polydipsia during pregnancy

As you know, the human body consists of 80% water, the sufficient presence of which in each of its cells guarantees the normal functioning of the whole organism. During pregnancy, every woman is subject to increased stress and trials. Very often, the body of the expectant mother suffers from thirst and water balance disorders, which can provoke a slowdown in metabolic processes and lead to pathological changes in the mother's body and the development of the fetus.

The main causes of severe thirst in pregnant women:

It is worth noting that there are situations when, according to urinalysis and accompanying symptoms, a pregnant woman needs to reduce the amount of fluid consumed. Otherwise, preeclampsia may develop and the risk of premature birth increases.

Diagnosis of polydipsia

Since polydipsia can be a symptom of a rather serious pathology of some body system, the diagnosis of thirst is a very complex and lengthy process, which includes:

Prevention and treatment of polydipsia

The main task of the prevention and treatment of increased thirst is to restore the water-salt balance, as well as to identify and eliminate the factors that cause the body to feel unwell.

In the event of increased polydipsia, it is recommended:

If the physiological factors that cause thirst are completely eliminated, but dehydration does not stop, you should immediately go to a general practitioner or endocrinologist at the place of residence, who will prescribe all the necessary tests and conduct a thorough examination of the body. If there is a head injury, after which increased thirst began to be observed, it is necessary to seek advice from a traumatologist and a neurologist.

Most diseases begin with seemingly insignificant symptoms, which we sometimes do not attach much importance to or do not consider them to be an alarming signal. If we are thirsty, we just drink, but we are in no hurry to see a doctor. This may go on for quite some time. And yet there comes a time when we begin to think more and more often about why we are constantly thirsty. This becomes especially suspicious when there is no heat outside, and the appearance of a feeling of thirst was not preceded by intense physical work or a hearty meal.

So why are you constantly thirsty? It is possible that we are not talking about the disease. Thirst is often the result of taking drugs that cause or abuse coffee, alcohol, salt.

As a rule, you are thirsty while taking diuretics, certain types of antibiotics, expectorants and antihypertensives. Thirst is a constant companion of those who drink a lot of coffee and lean on junk food such as chips, crackers, salted nuts and fast food. One has only to leave bad habits and switch to a healthy diet, as the problem with constant thirst will disappear.

If you constantly want to drink, then the presence of diseases is not excluded. Probably, any person knows that dry mouth and a feeling of thirst are one of the most important signs of such a serious and common disease as diabetes mellitus. Therefore, having noticed the habit of drinking often, you should immediately go to the therapist and ask for a referral for a special blood test.

Patients with diabetes often live in ignorance for a long time and are unaware of their illness, without receiving the necessary treatment. But only early diagnosis and timely assistance can save them from such serious complications as complete blindness and amputation of the lower extremities.

In addition, you constantly want to drink with kidney failure, when the body cannot retain fluid, provoking thirst. At the same time, water does not come out well through the urinary system, but accumulates in the tissues, forming edema.

Another reason for the constant desire to drink is a rare disease called diabetes insipidus, in which the water-salt balance is disturbed and severe dehydration occurs. During frequent urination, sodium is excreted from the body.

Strong thirst also appears with hyperfunction. The disease is accompanied by severe weakness and fatigue, inability to concentrate, aching bones, and renal colic.

Increased thirst occurs in diseases of the liver. This may be cirrhosis or hepatitis, accompanied by symptoms such as nausea, yellowness of the sclera, nosebleeds.

And finally, I would like to say a few words about what drinks you need to drink to quench your thirst. It can be ordinary clean water, decoctions of plants (raspberry, currant, mint leaves), non-hot tea (green or black), but not juices with preservatives or carbonated drinks.

A strong feeling of thirst can be completely normal after intense physical activity, on a hot afternoon, and even after eating something salty or spicy. But thirst, which appears for no reason and which is almost impossible to quench, is a serious signal sent by the body. But what about a person who wants to drink all the time - regardless of how much he has already drunk? How alarming is this? What diseases are evidenced by constant thirst, let's talk further.

Doctors call the syndrome of constant thirst polydipsia. This is a pathological phenomenon that indicates a clear lack of fluid in the body. Fluid loss can be associated both with the above phenomena, and after a violation of the body (vomiting, increased sweating, diarrhea).

Those diseases, which are evidenced by constant thirst, can be quite serious, so this alarming "call" should not be ignored. Most often, thirst is provoked by diseases of the liver or kidneys, infectious diseases, increased blood sugar levels, improper water exchange, and burns. In addition, doctors also add what diseases you should think about when you have a constant desire to drink. These are mental illnesses, nervous disorders, schizophrenia, obsessive and depressive states, a feeling of thirst often occurs after head injuries, possibly resulting in a concussion.

Natural Causes of Thirst

Evaporation of water from sweat. The body releases sweat during exercise or when the ambient temperature rises. If you're sweating and now you're thirsty, that's fine. Don't worry - this is a normal reaction. Beware of excessive sweating. Different people may have different levels of sweating. Sweating should be considered excessive if you observe a sharp increase in sweating compared to your usual level. Such a change can be a symptom of a number of diseases of the lungs, kidneys, heart, nervous system, immune system, and inflammatory processes. Inflammatory processes can be determined by elevated body temperature. Diagnosis of other factors will require a visit to a doctor and analysis, laboratory tests.

High body temperature can cause thirst. Take your temperature and see a doctor if it's elevated.

Very dry air. If the air around is very dry, then the body loses moisture and there is a strong desire to drink. Air conditioners are especially dry. If the thirst disappears when the humidity normalizes, then the reason is not your health, but the dry air. Drink more water. Get plants. Plants evaporate a lot of water, raise humidity.

Soft water. If you drink water with an insufficient content of mineral salts, you may experience constant thirst. Mineral salts contribute to the absorption of water and its retention in the body. Try to drink bottled water with a normalized mineral content, or, if this is not contraindicated for you, then mineral water of the sodium chloride group with a small amount of salts. If it does not help, then the reason is not in the water, but in something else.

Hard water, excess salt in the diet. An excess of mineral salts can also cause thirst, since salts, if they are in excess, attract water, preventing its normal absorption by cells. The kidneys excrete excess salts with water.

Diuretic food. Some foods are diuretic. For example, coffee. I can't drink coffee at all. After that, I die of thirst. Diuretic products help remove water from the body. There is dehydration and a desire to drink. Try to give up such food for a while. If the thirst is gone, then everything is fine with health, such thirst is safe, you can return to your usual food intake, drink water for health.

Spicy or salty food. Spicy or salty foods simply irritate the mouth and throat. Thirst arises reflexively. Give up such food for a while. If the thirst has passed, then there is no point in worrying further. You can return to your normal diet. Drinking spicy and salty foods with plenty of water is completely normal.

Causes of pathological thirst

Here are some of the most common causes of abnormal thirst (polydipsia):

• Lack of water and salt in the body (for example, as a result of sweating, diarrhea, vomiting).
• Taking certain medications.
• Excessive consumption of alcohol, caffeine and salt.

Possible diseases

Thirst can be a sign of a more serious condition and is caused by:

• Hyperglycemia (high blood sugar);
• Diabetes;
• diabetes insipidus (impaired water metabolism);
• Kidney disorders (for example, Fanconi syndrome);
• Dehydration;
• Liver disease (hepatitis or cirrhosis);
• Bleeding (for example, in the intestines);
• burns or infection;
• Head injury;
• Mental disorders (schizophrenia, obsessive-compulsive states that cause thirst).

Medications

Certain medications can make you thirsty.

• Diuretics. Used in the treatment of hypertension, diabetes and heart failure. Also prescribed for edema and diabetes insipidus. They lead to frequent urination and dehydration.
• Tetracycline antibiotics. Used to treat bacterial infections. Remove sodium from the body.
• Lithium. Used to treat bipolar disorder and other psychiatric disorders.
• Phenothiazine. Used to treat schizophrenia and other mental disorders.

How to get rid of constant thirst?

Try to drink before you feel a strong urge to drink water. To prevent thirst from making itself felt, drink half a cup of pure water every hour. Increase the amount of fluid you drink if you are in a dry, warm room for a long time. It is recommended to drink eight glasses of liquid throughout the day.

Watch your urination. To rid your body of dehydration, you should drink such an amount of liquid that the urine will not be dark or too light in color. An indicator of sufficient fluid content is urine of a normal, moderate yellow color.

Drink clean water during physical work, sports training. During hard work, a person loses from 1.5 to 2 liters of fluid and only after that feels thirsty. Therefore, to prevent dehydration, drink half a glass of water 15 minutes before starting work or playing sports. Then drink water every 15 minutes. during, and 15 minutes after the end of work or training.

If the thirst is constant, you drink a large amount of fluid per day, but you still want to drink, you need to take a blood test for high sugar. Since diabetes can be the cause of constant thirst, you need to undergo a medical examination, and, if necessary, adhere to a special treatment program, follow a diet.

So we talked about why there is a constant thirst, the reasons for how to get rid of told. If the above symptoms appear, you should immediately seek advice from an endocrinologist or a general practitioner. If you want to drink after a head injury, then you need to go to an appointment with a neurologist or traumatologist. Having established the cause of constant thirst, it is easier to get rid of this obsessive state. Be healthy!

On average, a person should drink the classic one and a half to two liters of liquid per day. An obsessive strong thirst, when you are constantly thirsty, is just the situation that cannot be ignored, these can be dangerous symptoms of a serious illness. If hot weather sets in, the need for water increases, which is quite natural, because we sweat, and the body needs to restore its reserves.

Of course, there is nothing surprising if a person gets thirsty after eating something - be it salty. The body must maintain a balance of potassium and sodium, with the “help” of salt, the sodium content in the blood increases. When we drink, the balance is restored and the increased "desire to drink" disappears after a while. If the thirst is strong or you want to drink all the time and want, then not everything is safe in the body.

Blame toxins

If there is a strong thirst, then this may be a sure sign of intoxication. A classic, in this sense, example is the no less classic hangover. After the “brute force” and absorption of alcohol into the blood, the body is poisoned by its decay products, and in order to get rid of them, the body needs more water, because with it, toxins will naturally be removed from it.

And if you don’t drink alcohol, but you want to drink constantly, then you should think about whether there is an infection in the body or even worse than a virus. The process of their vital activity is also accompanied by the release of toxins. The presence of tumors also poisons our body with harmful substances, which is why if there is an increased need for drinking, an appeal to specialists and an examination is vital. When the underlying disease is eliminated, thirst ceases to bother.

sweet sickness

When you complain of extreme thirst, most likely you will be advised to do a test not "for a tumor", but for "only" diabetes mellitus. One of the main symptoms of diabetes is the constant need for water. Due to the disease, the glucose content in the blood stream rises, which leads to increased formation and excretion of urine, and this is dehydration. A person can drink up to a bucket of water per day due to the desire to replenish water by the body.

To get rid of the constant need to drink, diabetes has to be compensated using insulin injections or taking hypoglycemic drugs. Treatment is selected by a doctor - an endocrinologist, after confirming the diagnosis, which is established on a blood test for glucose or glycated hemoglobin.

The feeling of thirst is a leading symptom related to another type of diabetes, the so-called non-diabetes, which develops due to a lack of vasopressin, a hormone produced by the posterior pituitary gland. Its deficiency also leads to increased urination and general dehydration and intense thirst. This case is treatable with hormone replacement therapy.

Medical professionals will tell you about the dangers of sweet sparkling water in this video:

Problem kidneys

If thirst is more pronounced than usual, this may also indicate damage to the urinary tract with the kidneys - cystitis, pyelonephritis, glomerular nephritis, polycystic kidney disease. In such a situation, the need for moisture increases simultaneously due to intoxication of the organism affected by the infection and due to increased urination.

All of the above require treatment. But the reality is that not everyone comes to the doctors, and of course not immediately. If cystitis will hardly go unnoticed, then pyelonephritis is often, at first, manifested only by increased thirst with increased urges “for the lung”.

These symptoms should not be ignored when you are very thirsty, and even constantly thirsty, especially when the desire to urinate comes almost hourly at any time of the day. This is a distinctive feature of kidney disease, when urgent intervention of a nephrologist is required. Next, consider who and how much water should be drunk per day.

Who and how much water should be drunk per day

In the body of an adult, sometimes not, a person contains about 40 liters of liquid, it turns out that our body, more than half, consists of water. With the help of liquid, vitamins and trace elements are delivered to our cells. Without water, there is no coordinated work of the nervous, cardiac and vascular systems, with its help the intervertebral discs are fed, shock-absorbing pillows are created in the joints, therefore it is so important to know who and how much water should be drunk per day.

Water also ensures proper digestion with regular stools, because a glass of water drunk on an empty stomach is considered a recognized remedy for constipation. And most importantly, what is in the water - it is a source of youth. Scientists believe that the lack of fluid in the cells is directly related to the aging process.

This is due to the fact that with age the amount of water in the body decreases, the feeling of thirst is greatly dulled, a situation occurs when the body literally dries up. Therefore, older people should be especially careful to monitor the situation with fluid intake.
Calculating how much water your body needs is simple, the daily need for 1 kilogram of body weight in liquid is approximately 30 ml, this is only for people with an average weight of 70 kg. If you have a strong constitution, then you should drink more.

However, if you don’t feel like drinking at all, then you can supply the body with moisture if you eat a bowl of soup or make a “snack” of fresh vegetables or fruits, they contain quite a lot of moisture.

When your favorite dish is "lard sandwich", a pork chop, there is no need to be surprised at the swelling that appears. The explanation is that our body releases liquids in the process of oxidizing fats, proteins, carbohydrates, and most of all water is released during the processing of fatty foods. So fats are a “good” load for the liver and kidneys.

Water should not be drunk on the go, taking a sip from a bottle. When this becomes a habit, the receptors in the mouth will lose sensitivity, while the feeling of thirst is gradually dulled. This is especially true in the elderly.

The day is best to start with one or two glasses of water, to create a kind of “liquid depot”, from where the body will draw moisture during the day.

When the water is too cold, there is a chance of catching a sore throat, and if it is drunk after a full meal, the contents of the stomach are evacuated into the intestines without being digested, which can lead to indigestion with other digestive problems. For food, the optimal temperature is 7 - 16 Cº.

Fans of mineral water should not forget that it is not suitable for daily use, they use table mineral water, where the salt content per liter is 1-2 mg and no more. Medicinal waters are not drunk in large quantities, because every medicine is every contraindication.

To the question - why you are constantly thirsty and your mouth is dry, even when it is accompanied by heavy drinking, almost inalienable signs of a “sweet disease”, when donating blood for sugar is required, discussed a little higher, it should also be added that there may be a sharp weight loss or its increase also in dizziness, when a visit to a specialist becomes simply mandatory.