Excessive Thirst

Description: An abnormal feeling of constantly needing to consume fluids, also known as polydipsia.

Symptoms and indications: Drinking excessive water.

Causes and risk factors: Excessive thirst may be a symptom of high blood sugar (hyperglycemia) and can be an important clue in detecting diabetes. Other causes can be : 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, diarrhoea, or vomiting), diabetes mellitus, diabetes insipidus, 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, and psychogenic polydipsia.

Prevention: As thirst is usually the body's signal to replace water loss, it is usually appropriate to drink plenty of liquids. Drinking extra fluids before exercising can help. Avoiding substances responsible for excessive thirst also help. Taking medications as prescribed and checking blood sugars regularly can prevent some cases due to diabetes.