Frequent or urgent urination

Common causes of these symptoms are:

• Urinary tract infection (UTI)
• Enlarged prostate in middle-aged and older men
• Swelling and infection of the urethra
• Vaginitis (swelling of or discharge from the vulva and vagina)
• Nerve related problems
• Caffeine intake

Less common causes include:

• Alcohol use
• Anxiety
• Bladder cancer (not common)
• Spine problems
• Diabetes that is not well controlled
• Pregnancy
• Interstitial cystitis
• Medicines such as water pills (diuretics)
• Overactive bladder syndrome
• Radiation therapy to the pelvis, which is used to treat certain cancers
• Stroke and other brain or nervous system diseases
• Tumor or growth in the pelvis

Frequent urination means needing to urinate more often than usual. Urgent urination is a sudden, strong need to urinate. This causes a discomfort in your bladder. Urgent urination makes it difficult to delay using the toilet.

A frequent need to urinate at night is called nocturia. Most people can sleep for 6 to 8 hours without having to urinate.

Conway B, Phelan PJ, Stewart GD. Nephrology and urology. In: Penman ID, Ralston SH, Strachan MWJ, Hobson RP, eds. Davidson's Principles and Practice of Medicine. 24th ed. Philadelphia, PA: Elsevier; 2023:chap 18.

Rane A, Kulkarni M, Iyer J. Prolapse and disorders of the urinary tract. In: Symonds I, Arulkumaran S, eds. Essential Obstetrics and Gynaecology. 6th ed. Philadelphia, PA: Elsevier; 2020:chap 21.

Reynolds WS, Cohn JA. Overactive bladder. In: Partin AW, Dmochowski RR, Kavoussi LR, Peters CA, eds. Campbell-Walsh-Wein Urology. 12th ed. Philadelphia, PA: Elsevier; 2021:chap 117.

Your provider will take a medical history and do a physical exam.

Tests that may be done include:

• Urinalysis
• Urine culture
• Cystometry or urodynamic testing (a measurement of the pressure within the bladder and the flow of urine)
• Cystoscopy
• Nervous system tests (for some urgency problems)
• Ultrasound (such as an abdominal ultrasound or a pelvic ultrasound)

Treatment depends on the cause of the urgency and frequency. You may need to take antibiotics and medicine to ease your discomfort.

Contact your provider right away if:

• You have fever, back or side pain, vomiting, or shaking chills
• You have increased thirst or appetite, fatigue, or sudden weight loss

Also contact your provider if:

• You have urinary frequency or urgency, but you are not pregnant and you are not drinking large amounts of fluid.
• You have incontinence or you have changed your lifestyle because of your symptoms.
• You have bloody or cloudy urine.
• There is a discharge from the penis or vagina.