Adults can urinate 4-10 times a day, more or less can be a warning sign of health problems such as dehydration and urinary incontinence.
Normal urination frequency varies from person to person. Depending on how quickly you drink fluids, bladder size, age, and other factors, the bladder generally needs to be emptied every 2-5 hours.
A woman’s bladder can hold up to 500 ml of urine, and an adult man’s bladder can hold up to 700 ml. Babies and young children have smaller bladders and need to urinate more often. Newborns often wet their diapers 6-8 times a day, or even more. Children over one year old may need to urinate 10 or more times a day, especially during toilet training.
Adults urinate 6-7 times a day on average. Urinating at least 4 times and up to 10 times a day is still within the normal range. Some medications can affect this frequency, such as diuretics to treat high blood pressure, which can cause people to urinate more often. Medical conditions such as diabetes, pregnancy and sickle cell anemia, also cause the same condition.
If you feel like you don’t want to urinate for a long time, this may be a sign of dehydration. Dehydration occurs when the body loses more fluid than it absorbs. When too much fluid is lost, body functions will be affected. Symptoms of dehydration may include dizziness, decreased urination, brown or dark yellow urine, and dry mouth.
Some people want to urinate but have difficulty due to certain conditions such as kidney failure, urinary tract infections, prostate enlargement, urinary incontinence, overactive bladder, interstitial cystitis, urinary retention .
Doctors advise people to urinate about every three hours and as soon as the need arises. The body usually takes 9-10 hours to produce the maximum amount of urine. Holding your urine for 1-2 hours usually does not pose any health threat. That is a safe amount of time for people to hold urine without causing damage to the bladder. However, delaying too long can cause many risks to the body. Frequently not urinating enough or not urinating at all for several days can cause bacteria to build up and multiply in the bladder, leading to a urinary tract infection (UTI).
For people who habitually hold their urine, the bladder may begin to shrink, which over time can lead to urinary incontinence. Fasting for 10 hours or more can cause urinary retention, meaning the bladder muscles cannot relax and release urine even when you want to. In very rare cases, holding in urine can cause the bladder to rupture. People who have difficulty urinating should see a doctor. Weak bladder function can be a symptom of another underlying health problem.
For children, it can be difficult to know when they have difficulty urinating, especially in infancy or toddlerhood. Parents should monitor the number of wet diapers of their children. If it is less than 4 times per day, they should contact the doctor. In addition, pay attention to the color of their child’s urine. Urine should be clear to pale yellow because amber or darker color may indicate dehydration.