Thirst - excessive

Injury	Disease	Nutrition	Poison

Symptoms	Surgery	Test	Special Topic

Insulin production and diabetes

Overview

Treatment

Thirst - excessive

Definition:

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

Alternative Names:

Increased thirst; Polydipsia; Excessive thirst

Considerations:

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.

Common Causes:

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

Review Date: 1/24/2005
Reviewed By: Thomas A. Owens, M.D., Departments of Internal Medicine and Pediatrics, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC. Review provided by VeriMed Healthcare Network.

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