From low urination or low urge to urinate (oliguria) one speaks when the natural urine volume falls below approx. 800 ml for various reasons. Usually this happens due to insufficient fluid intake. However, serious illnesses can also be considered as causes, such as kidney weakness or renal insufficiency. Many older people who suffer from dementia also drink much less than their body needs due to their forgetfulness and lower feeling of thirst.
What is low urination (oliguria)?
With normal urination, which is known in medicine as micturition, the situation is that a healthy person excretes around 800 ml of urine every time they go to the toilet while emptying their bladder. The healthy amount of urination is around 1.5 liters per day. The frequency of urination depends on various factors.
If the amount of urine excreted per day is noticeably small and if urination to the toilet is limited to three to four times a day, then we speak of low urination or oliguria. Low urination or oliguria are present when the amount of urine released daily is between 100 and 600 ml. In contrast to low urination, there is frequent urination or frequent urge to urinate caused by the disease.
causes
The decreased urine excretion can have different causes. Low urination can be caused by a disease of the bladder sphincter. Adhesions or tumors can prevent the sphincter from working and urine output is restricted. This can often be the case in men with cancer of the prostate. This also applies in particular to the urethra 's ability to pass through. If this is misplaced, the bladder cannot empty itself sufficiently.
Insufficient urination can be caused by nervous impairments that primarily affect the conduction of special impulses from the bladder via nerve tracts. The urinary bladder, from a physiological point of view it is the stretch receptors in the bladder, transmits information to the corresponding brain areas from a certain capacity, which represents the signal for emptying. If the conduction of stimuli is interrupted or disturbed, the amount of urine released is reduced.
The amount of urine is also based on the functioning of the kidneys. If this is restricted by kidney diseases, then these can no longer produce enough urine and low urination is the result. A typical symptom is low urination for existing glumerulonephritis or acute nephritic syndrome.
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➔ Medicines for bladder and urinary tract healthDiseases with this symptom
- Prostate cancer
- Dehydration
- Kidney failure (renal failure)
- Yellow fever
- Urosepsis
- Acute kidney failure
Complications
Oliguria (little urination of less than 500 ml within 24 hours) can lead to various complications. If the urinary behavior, also called urinary retention, lasts for a long time, the bladder wall can become overstretched. This often results in a strong feeling of pressure with severe pain in the abdomen. If the bladder remains full for a long time, there is a risk that the bladder muscle will no longer close properly and consequently give way at some point. An overflow bladder develops with a slight dribble of urine.
Doctors then speak of overflow incontinence. This can result not only in urinary congestion in the ureters and renal pelvis, but also in damage to the kidneys. If the last symptom is a urinary stasis kidney. The state of confusion and reduced (insufficient) filling of the jugular veins (vessels in the neck region) are just two serious complications that can occur in connection with urinary obstruction. Hypotension (too low blood pressure) and a tendency to fall can also occur. Acute kidney failure and shock are among the worst complications. These can only be avoided with immediate treatment.
A disturbance in the electrolyte balance due to an increase in potassium electrolytes in the body due to oliguria that has occurred can lead to symptoms of intoxication. In particularly severe cases, acute kidney failure can occur. Sometimes there is also water retention, for example in the legs.
When should you go to the doctor?
Low urination is when someone excretes less than 500 ml of urine within 24 hours. Some doctors set this limit at 800 ml. The normal daily amount of urine is between 1000 ml and 1500 ml. Low urination is usually due to a small amount of urine or a disease of the urogenital tract. Heart failure is another possible cause of poor urination. Here the body stores the water in the tissue instead of excreting it through the kidneys.
A doctor should always be consulted if the urination is low. In cases of too little drinking, it is almost always old people. They feel less thirsty and often forget to drink. In extreme cases, drinking a small amount of water can lead to dehydration, which is why a doctor should be consulted for this reason alone.
In addition to the internist, the urologist is very helpful in diagnosing the cause of low urination. Mechanical obstructions in the kidney due to thrombosis, embolism, or tumor can result in poor urination. Other problems of the lower urinary tract such as inflammation of the kidneys including pelvic inflammation, cystic kidneys, kidney failure and kidney stones promote low urination and also electrolyte disorders and potassium deficiency. Poor urination in men is also often associated with an enlarged prostate.
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Treatment & Therapy
Since oliguria or low urination in most cases indicates acute kidney failure, if treatment is started in good time, the symptoms can often be recognized so that the low urination can be remedied.
In addition to the general therapeutic measures, which include compensating for a lack of fluid volume and treating low blood pressure, an excessive rise in potassium electrolytes in the body is reduced. For this purpose, glucose or resonin is administered. So-called diuretics, which stimulate increased excretion of urine to prevent poisoning of the organism, have a beneficial effect. Dialysis is also advisable for low urination due to acute kidney failure.
If it is not acute kidney failure and the decreased urination is due to inadequate fluid intake, adequate fluid administration, either orally or via infusion, is indicated. In some patients, poor urination is indicated by the build-up of water, for example in the legs. In this context, low urination is treated therapeutically with dehydrating medication.
Outlook & forecast
Inadequate fluid drainage can often be attributed to insufficient fluid intake. Little urination is the result. Old people in particular often drink too little. They feel less thirsty. The prognosis for low urination varies. If the inadequate supply of fluids is maintained, kidney damage and dehydration can result.
In oliguria, too little fluid is excreted through the kidneys and bladder. This can indicate diseases in the urogenous tract or kidney disease. The prognosis is therefore only good if the person concerned investigates the causes. This is especially true in newborns and the elderly. In the case of anuria, however, the prognosis is poor if a hospital or an emergency doctor is not called in immediately. There it can be determined whether a disease or other causes are behind it. The patient can be hydrated and checked thoroughly.
Dehydration with subsequent low urination occurs when people "forget" to drink or suffer from persistent diarrhea. If this leads to increasing dehydration, quick action is indicated. The prognosis is only good if the dehydration is eliminated promptly.
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➔ Medicines for bladder and urinary tract healthprevention
In order to avoid low urination, normal fluid intake at regular intervals is essential. In addition, kidney and bladder infections, symptoms of the prostate and water retention should be presented to the doctor in good time. Many people are prone to bladder infections, kidney infections, or heart failure, which causes water to be retained. In this respect, a medical check-up is the best prevention against low urination.
You can do that yourself
If you urinate too little, you might suspect that you didn't drink enough during the day. If the body is undersupplied with fluid, then it no longer releases it in the form of urine, since it is hoarding it. That is why it helps to first drink water, tea or liquids containing electrolytes such as sports drinks. However, this should not be done late in the evening or at night, because if large amounts of fluid are ingested at once, this leads to an urge to urinate at night. It would be better to add fluid to the body in small steps. This means that there is no sudden strong urge to urinate and the body has time to absorb the fluid it has absorbed.
The case is different if low urination is accompanied by pain and the feeling that you urgently need to go to the toilet. Since men and women are anatomically built differently, it can be a gender-specific disease of the excretory organs, such as a problem with the prostate or a urinary tract infection. In these cases, only a visit to the doctor will help - also as an emergency in the case of severe pain. At best, no pain medication is taken until then, but there is nothing to prevent you from trying to go to the toilet until your doctor's appointment. A doctor is also the best possible kind of help for children, the elderly and sick people who urinate very little and do not want to drink at the same time.
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