Frequent urination when it's cold, is it normal or a health warning? An article explains!

Recently, the weather has turned cold, and many people have been feeling the urge to urinate frequently even though they haven't drunk much water. Frequent urination is common in cold weather, but in some cases, it can also be a sign of a health problem. It is important for personal health to distinguish between physiological frequent urination caused by cold weather and pathological frequent urination that requires medical attention.

The human body regulates the amount of water in the body mainly through sweat evaporation and urination. When the weather turns cold, while the amount of water consumed remains unchanged, the evaporation of sweat decreases, and the amount of urine increases accordingly to maintain water balance. In a cold environment, the human body's nerve tension will increase, resulting in increased nerve excitability. This stress response is enough to induce urination with just a slight stimulation. When the temperature is low, the body's metabolic process speeds up, and the corresponding endogenous water in the body increases. This situation is physiological frequent urination. Physiological frequent urination can be caused by increased water intake. Through the regulation of the kidneys, the amount of urine increases, the number of urinations also increases, and frequent urination may occur. In addition, increased water intake and emotional tension can also cause frequent urination. The characteristics of physiological frequent urination are that the amount of urine each time is not small, and it is not accompanied by other symptoms such as urgency and pain when urinating.

So, what are the characteristics of pathological frequent urination?

(1) Inflammatory frequent urination: When the bladder is inflamed, the center that controls urination is in an excited state, resulting in frequent urination with a small amount of urine each time. This is an important symptom of cystitis. Patients urinate frequently with a small amount of urine each time, often accompanied by urgency and pain. Inflammatory cells can be seen in urine microscopy, which is also seen in other urinary tract inflammations such as urethritis, prostatitis and paraurethral gland inflammation.

(2) Psychoneural urinary frequency: urinary frequency only occurs during the day or before falling asleep at night, and is common in patients with mental tension or hysteria. The frequency of urination is frequent, but the amount of urine is small each time, and there is no urgency or pain when urinating. There are no inflammatory cells in the urine microscopic examination. This type of urinary frequency is usually seen in central and peripheral neuropathy and neurogenic bladder.

(3) Polyuria: As the name suggests, the frequency of urination increases, but the amount of urine each time is not small, and the total urine volume for the whole day increases. It is seen in the polyuria stage of diabetes, diabetes insipidus, and acute renal failure.

(4) Lesions around the urethral opening: Urethral polyps and paraurethral cysts that stimulate the urethral opening can also cause frequent urination.

(5) Frequent urination due to reduced bladder capacity: This is characterized by persistent frequent urination with small amounts of urine each time. It is difficult to relieve with medication and is more common in bladder space-occupying lesions (such as bladder tumors). During pregnancy, the enlarged uterus or ovarian cysts may compress the bladder and cause frequent urination.

Frequent urination in cold weather is a normal physiological reaction in most cases. If it is accompanied by other abnormal symptoms, such as urgency, pain when urinating, or a significant change in urine volume, it is recommended to seek medical attention and undergo relevant examinations in a timely manner.