Urination - excessive volume

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Female urinary tract

Male urinary tract

Excessive volume of urination means that you release abnormally large amounts of urine each day. The medical term for this condition is polyuria. 

Polyuria

An excessive volume of urination for an adult is more than 2.5 liters of urine per day.

Polyuria is a fairly common symptom, which is often noticed when you have to get up to use the bathroom at night.

• Drinking a large amount of fluids, particularly those containing caffeine or alcohol
• Certain medications, especially diuretics
• Diabetes mellitus
• Diabetes insipidus
• Psychogenic polydipsia, most common in women over age 30
• Kidney failure
• Sickle cell anemia
• Imaging tests that involve injecting a special dye (contrast media) into your vein -- the amount of urine you produce may increase for up to 24 hours afterwards

Review Date: 09/30/2009
Reviewed By: David C. Dugdale, III, MD, Professor of Medicine, Division of General Medicine, Department of Medicine, University of Washington School of Medicine; Scott Miller, MD, Urologist in private practice in Atlanta, Georgia. Also reviewed by David Zieve, MD, MHA, Medical Director, A.D.A.M., Inc.

A.D.A.M., Inc. is accredited by URAC, also known as the American Accreditation HealthCare Commission (www.urac.org).

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