Do you wake up feeling thirsty? What problems does morning dehydration indicate?

When a person begins to wake up due to thirst, the inevitable question is why you want to drink at night. There are many reasons for this phenomenon, but this symptom is not always harmless. Of course, a hearty dinner immediately before bed, and even with an abundance of spicy and salty food, will inevitably cause thirst. But if thirst begins to haunt you every night, this is a reason to consult a specialist.

Some people wake up at night from thirst

It is impossible to independently determine the cause of dry mouth at night. Causes include pregnancy, taking certain medications, chemotherapy and radiation therapy. But in some cases, thirst at night is a symptom of a serious illness. In any case, such a symptom cannot be ignored - consulting a doctor will help solve the problem in a timely manner.

Causes of night thirst

Thirst at night, the causes of which are varied, is often ignored by people. This is unacceptable, since most often it is associated with serious pathologies of internal organs. In addition to overeating at night, which in itself is harmful, thirst can be caused by the following reasons:

• drinking strong tea, coffee, alcoholic beverages;
• taking diuretics;
• radiotherapy;
• rhinitis;
• a sharp jump in blood glucose levels;
• inflammatory diseases of the urinary system;
• viral infection;
• the emergence of neoplasms in the body;
• acute/chronic poisoning causing intoxication of the body.

Night thirst can occur for a variety of reasons

A constant desire to drink water in the evening or at night may also indicate diseases of the cardiovascular system, indicating difficulty in blood flow and oxygen delivery to cells. In addition, thirst can be a sign of diabetes mellitus/diabetes insipidus, as well as calcium deficiency.

How to understand when it's time to see a doctor

If there are no objective reasons for night thirst (overeating, alcohol), and the symptom appears daily, medical attention is needed. The doctor will conduct a subjective (detailed medical history) and objective examination. A urine test is required to determine the excreted volume, the amount of calcium, sodium and potassium. The second mandatory study is a general blood test. Further testing depends on the specific symptoms that are bothering the patient and may include:

• Ultrasound of the kidneys or abdominal cavity;
• FGDS;
• plain radiography of the kidneys and urinary tract;
• biochemical blood test for hormones;
• blood for tumor markers, CT, MRI - if a malignant neoplasm is suspected.

As a rule, consultations with specialized specialists are required - only a complete examination will answer the question of why you want to drink water at night.

1.General information

Constant unquenchable thirst, obsessive thoughts about water that make it difficult to concentrate, an imperative desire to drink, a dry mouth - these are phenomena known and understood by everyone. The reason is also intuitive: the body “asks” for what it lacks, that is, fluid. It is not for nothing that water is called the source of life on Earth: fatal dehydration (dehydration) is one of the most painful options for death, and even the illusory or imaginary possibility of a critical water shortage causes all body systems to send literally panic signals to the brain: drink!

Strictly speaking, thirst with forced large fluid intake (polydipsia) and dry mouth (xerostomia, hyposalivation) are not the same thing, and sometimes these phenomena are caused by completely different reasons. Hyposalivation means insufficient secretory activity of the salivary glands (in contrast to hypersalivation, pathologically intense salivation). However, drying of the oral mucosa is such a characteristic and associated symptom of thirst that many patients no longer distinguish one from the other, using these terms as absolute synonyms.

And such patients, of course, need not terminological analysis, but medical care.

A must read! Help with treatment and hospitalization!

What is the best way to quench your thirst at night?

It’s not easy to quench your thirst at night. Simple clean water is not suitable for these purposes. If thirst is caused by dry mucous membranes, you can try drinking sparkling mineral water. Water with the addition of lemon juice helps a lot - instant refreshment of the mucous membrane is guaranteed. If you are thirsty on a regular basis, you can cook compotes, drink juices and fruit drinks - the main condition is that the drinks are not sweet.

Lemon water is a great thirst quencher

Sugar-containing carbonated drinks, milk and coffee are not suitable for quickly quenching thirst. They provoke water retention in the body, forcing a person to drink additional fluid. It is worth remembering that carbonated mineral water is not suitable for everyone - if you have stomach or intestinal diseases, it is better to use still water.

Kvass will help you quickly quench your thirst, regardless of its cause - but only if it is natural, fresh and without sugar. Green tea occupies a special place among drinks. It perfectly quenches even the strongest thirst and has a slight diuretic effect, removing excess fluid from the body and cleansing it. It is especially useful if thirst is caused by intoxication - alcoholic or viral.

4.Treatment

Obviously, the therapeutic “target” will not be xerostomia with polydipsia - since these are always only symptoms - but the etiopathogenetic mechanisms underlying these phenomena. It is absolutely impossible to list all the options for specialized (endocrinological, gastroenterological, nephrological, etc.) therapeutic regimens, with the successful implementation of which thirst goes away, just as it is impossible to list all diseases at once in one article.

It is important to understand, however, that constant thirst and dry mouth, unless caused by obviously transient situational factors, are never a harmless isolated phenomenon. Any cause of dehydration, be it glomerulonephritis, diabetes, infection or intestinal disease, is pathological and very serious, so with such phenomena it is necessary to see a doctor as soon as possible.

Constant thirst as a symptom of the disease

Often, the constant desire to drink water at night is one of the symptoms of a serious pathology of the internal organs. The most common diseases with this symptom include several.

• Primary aldosteronism. The pathology is more often diagnosed in women and is a benign neoplasm that develops in the adrenal glands. In addition to thirst, the disease is accompanied by severe hypertension.

The adrenal glands are located on top of the kidneys

• Secondary aldosteronism. It develops against the background of neoplasms accompanied by damage to the vessels of the adrenal glands. In addition to an irresistible desire to drink, there is a high temperature and difficulty urinating.
• Diabetes insipidus. Normally, a person produces a sufficient amount of antidiuretic hormone, which is designed to control the concentration of salts in the blood plasma. An insufficient amount of it leads to increased urination - this is one of the reasons why thirst occurs at night. The exact reasons for the development of this pathology have not yet been established.
• Diabetes. High blood glucose inevitably makes you want to drink a lot. The amount of fluid consumed by diabetics can be 3-5 or more liters per day. At the same time, metabolic processes are disrupted and immunity is reduced.
• Hyperparathyroidism. A disease associated with an imbalance in the content of a microelement such as calcium. Along with sharply increased urine output, severe thirst is observed, including at night.
• Cholera algide. It develops against the background of many intestinal infections, accompanied by uncontrollable vomiting and diarrhea, leading to persistent dehydration.
• Stones in the kidneys. Stones formed in the kidneys cause obstructed urine flow and disrupt the functioning of the entire urinary system.
• Diseases of the heart and blood vessels. The desire to constantly drink is caused by coronary disease, arterial hypertension, and defects. This is due to impaired blood circulation in the body and persistent hypoxia of tissues that do not receive the proper amount of oxygen and nutrients.

If you are thirsty at night, you need to limit your salt intake

Suffering from night thirst, it is worth reviewing your diet. By eating less salt, fatty and spicy foods in the evening, you can almost certainly get rid of painful thirst not only at night, but also after waking up.

Is it possible to deal with the problem on your own?

Night thirst is not always an alarming symptom. Of course, when a child constantly asks to drink, he needs to be shown to a doctor. The same applies to older people. If this symptom periodically bothers an adult and healthy person, you can try to take independent measures. First of all, you need to pay attention to how much water you drink during the day.

The norm is considered to be 2-2.5 liters of fluid per day. But you need to take into account that in the hot season you need to drink more, since a large amount of water is lost through sweat. In this case, you do not need to count sweet (carbonated) drinks - only pure water counts. Towards the evening, you should also give up black tea or coffee - they have a mild diuretic effect, helping to remove fluid from the body.

In winter, with the onset of the heating season, the air in city apartments becomes very dry. Because of this, the mucous membrane of the oropharynx quickly dries out at night, causing the desire to drink. You can humidify the air in your apartment using special humidifiers, placing several vessels with water in the room, or simply covering the heating radiators with a damp cloth.

Calming by nature

The simplest thing is to make tea with lemon balm.
What should you drink before bed to sleep better and not be thirsty at night? For health and good rest, it is not at all necessary to make a choice only in favor of clean water. There are a lot of drinks with a slight sedative effect that not only perfectly quench your thirst, but also help you fall asleep soundly and quickly. These include:

1. Lavender and chamomile tea . One of the best remedies for insomnia. Chamomile owes its sedative and anti-stress properties to the flavonoid apigenin, which it contains in abundance, and the relaxing and soothing aroma of lavender only enhances this effect. To prepare the drink, you need to pour a glass of hot water into a mixture of 1 teaspoon of plants, let it brew, strain and add milk and honey to taste.
2. Valerian root decoction . Useful for good sleep for those who find it difficult to cope with worries and worries in the evenings. 1 tbsp. pour a spoonful of crushed raw materials into a glass of hot water, boil for 15 minutes and leave for the same amount of time, then strain and take 20 ml three times a day.
3. Tea with lemon balm . To normalize sleep, just pour boiling water over a few branches of the plant in the evening, wait 10-15 minutes and slowly drink it with a spoon of honey.
4. Infusion of mint, hop cones and valerian root . 1 tbsp. a spoonful of the mixture is poured into a glass of boiling water and left for half an hour. The finished drink should be filtered and taken 100 ml 3 times a day.
5. A decoction of thyme, calendula and motherwort flowers . 1 teaspoon of ingredients taken in equal proportions must be poured into 200 ml of water and boiled for 10 minutes, and then left for at least an hour. The prepared decoction should be drunk daily before going to bed, adding a spoonful of honey to improve the taste.

Infusions and decoctions of medicinal plants are the best answer to the question of what to drink before bed instead of synthetic sleeping pills, which often do more harm than good.

In addition, they are ideal for combating insomnia in pregnant women, for whom any medications, especially sedatives and hypnotics, are potentially dangerous.