Frequent urination is the urge to urinate more often than normal during the day, at night or both. During urination, a person with frequent urination may void a normal or less than normal amount of urine. Dysuria, or painful urination, is a stinging, sharp sensation during urination. Different diseases, conditions and medical procedures can cause each symptom individually, but some medical conditions cause both frequent and painful urination.
Urinary Tract Infections
Frequent urination is one of the classic signs of a urinary tract infection, or UTI, according to Medline Plus. Inflammation from a UTI can cause the bladder to hold less urine than normal, so voiding must also occur more frequently. The Merck Manual for Healthcare Professionals lists one type of UTI---cystitis, or bladder infection---as one of the most frequent causes of painful urination. Painful urination often occurs in conjunction with urgent and frequent urination, and the infection can also cause tenderness in the bladder.
Low Estrogen Levels
A decrease in the levels of the hormone estrogen circulating in the blood can affect the lower urinary tract and the vaginal epithelium, which is the outer layer of cells in the vagina. Childbirth and breast-feeding may reduce levels of estrogen in women of childbearing age, notes the Mayo Clinic. Other possible causes of low estrogen in women of all ages include cigarette smoking, immune disorders, chemotherapy and radiation therapy. All women experience lower estrogen levels at menopause because the ovaries begin producing a significantly lower amount of estrogen. The resulting inflammation of the vaginal epithelium may cause frequent and painful urination, notes Dr. Lotika Pandit and Dr. Joseph Ouslander in a 1997 article published in the "American Journal of the Medical Sciences."
Prostate Problems
The medical condition prostatitis comprises a number of problems with the prostate gland in men. Men with prostatitis may experience frequent and painful urination, notes the Merck Manual for Healthcare Professionals. All types of prostatitis can cause a degree of obstruction of the urinary tract, irritation of the prostate gland and pain. The irritation causes frequent and urgent urination along with a feeling that the bladder never empties completely. A man may feel pain in his perinium---the area between his testicles and his anus---or in his testicles, lower back or tip of his penis, and he may experience pain when he ejaculates. He may also experience nocturia, which is the need to get up to urinate during the night.
References
- Medline Plus: Frequent or Urgent Urination
- The Merck Manual for Healthcare Professionals: Dysuria
- The Merck Manual for Healthcare Professionals: Urinary Frequency
- "The Amercian Journal of Medical Sciences"; Postmenopausal Vaginal Atrophy and Atrophic Vaginitis; Lotika Pandit, M.D. and Joseph G. Ouslander, M.D.; October 1997
- Mayo Clinic: Vaginal Dryness---Causes
