1. What is Nocturia?
Nocturia means waking up at night to empty your bladder
2. How Common is Nocturia?
- 75% of men and women older than 70 will wake up once to empty their bladder
- 60% will wake up more than once per night
3. What Causes Nocturia?
- Aging
- Reduces the size and capacity of the bladder to store urine overnight
- Affects the kidney’s ability to conserve salt and water overnight resulting in more urine formation
- Caffeine intake – coffee, tea, dark chocolate etc.
- Alcohol Intake
- Fluid Intake in the evening
- Edema or fluid retention – This fluid accumulates in the legs during the day and then may return to the circulation when we lie down at night flooding the kidneys
- Urinary problems
- Obstruction of the urethra from a stricture or by the prostate
- Overactive Bladder
- Urinary Infection (If this is new Incontinence)
- Other Diseases- E.g.
- Diabetes
- Diabetes Insipidus- where we lack Anti Diuretic Hormone
- Sleep Apnea
- Congestive Heart Failure
4. What Can I do for Nocturia?
- Try to drink all of your fluids before 7:00 in the evening or 3 hours before bedtime
- Avoid Caffeine
- Avoid Alcohol
- Treat edema by using compression stockings during the day. You may wish to lie down with your feet up in the afternoon
5. What can my Doctor do for Nocturia?
- Your doctor may check to see there are no underlying diseases or medications causing this problem
- The doctor may treat the edema with a diuretic to increase urination in the afternoon
- An anticholinergic drug may be prescribed to slow down bladder emptying over night
- Medications to relieve obstruction may be prescribed
