Excess and frequent urination may be a sign of disease or a sign that you drank too much the night before. Regardless, frequent urination can become a great inconvenience and an intolerable annoyance, interrupting daily activities and a cause of embarrassment. Whether you're making too many stops on the highway, having to stop meetings to run to the bathroom or suffering from bladder spasms that prevent you from participating in your favorite sport, urination reduction is possible.
Step 1
Drink less. The easiest thing you can do to reduce the frequency of urinating is to consume less liquid. This is not to say reduce your fluid intake so that you become dehydrated, but if you know you have an important event, limit your drinking beforehand, for instance.
Step 2
Drink stimulant-free drinks such as water or juices. Avoid caffeine in coffee, tea and sodas. Quit drinking alcohol. Caffeine and alcohol are diuretics and when consumed, stimulate the bladder and increase urination.
Step 3
Think about something else and practice self control. Wait a few extra minutes before relieving yourself. Learn to hold it in by focusing your attention elsewhere.
Step 4
Limit eating foods that are natural diuretics such as parsley, celery, artichokes and asparagus, suggests YourHealing.com. Many foods combine the ability to retain fluids or help the kidneys excrete fluids from the system.
Step 5
Reduce or eliminate artificial sweeteners, suggests eMedicinehealth.com. These chemicals irritate the urinary tract and act as a diuretic, stimulating urination.
Step 6
Check to see if you have a urinary tract infection, suggests eMedicinehealth.com, and if so, take cranberry or other natural supplements or ask your doctor for medication. A urinalysis or blood tests may be necessary for a proper diagnosis.
Step 7
Check blood sugar levels for diabetes. This disease causes excess urination, and management can be accomplished with the correct dose of diabetes medicine or supplements.
Step 8
Retrain your bladder, suggests eMedicinehealth.com, if you suffer from overactive bladder syndrome, also known as bladder spasms. Ask your doctor for exercises you can do to help with bladder spasms as well as medication that may help slow down the incidence of overactive bladder spasms.
Step 9
Make an appointment with the doctor for an exam if your frequent urination can't be controlled with the above suggestions.
Tips and Warnings
- Plan when you are going to eat and drink to coordinate with your schedule so you know ahead of time when you have time to visit the bathroom.
- The information offered here is for educational purposes and is not meant to replace medical advice.
Things You'll Need
- Blood tests
- Bladder re-training exercises
