TIME – Most people pee multiple times a day without giving it much thought. But if there’s a change in how often you urinate or how much you pee on each occasion, it could make you wonder if something is amiss.
It’s normal to urinate six to eight times over the course of 24 hours, says Dr. Philippe Zimmern, a urologist and professor at UT Southwestern Medical Center.
But you may pee more or less than that on a particular day, depending on what and how much you drink, your age, the weather, your stress, physical activity level, and overall health.
When it comes to peeing patterns, “some trouble signs are if your urine becomes bloody or cloudy, starts to smell, or you have difficulty urinating, take a long time to urinate or do so very frequently,” says Zimmern.
“Pain over the area of the bladder or pain while urinating are also abnormal and can signal a bladder infection.”
If you pee more than eight times during your waking hours, that’s considered “increased frequency,” which can be a symptom of undiagnosed or poorly controlled diabetes, says Dr. Nathaniel Barnes, a urologist with Memorial Hermann Health System in Texas.
“When [excess] sugar spills into the urine, it draws water with it, increasing urination. Think of each sugar molecule acting as a sponge, taking two water molecules with it.”
This is usually accompanied by increased thirst (called polydipsia), which causes you to drink more, thus perpetuating the cycle of increased urination (called polyuria).
Other symptoms—such as having a weak or intermittent stream, needing to strain to pee, feeling like you need to pee when you actually don’t, and peeing several times at night—are also worth investigating.
If these symptoms bother you or affect your quality of life, discuss them with your primary care physician, experts say …
