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Concept
Polydipsia
Summary
Polydipsia is excessive thirst or excess drinking. The word derives from the Greek πολυδίψιος () "very thirsty", which is derived from πολύς (, "much, many") + δίψα (, "thirst"). Polydipsia is a nonspecific symptom in various medical disorders. It also occurs as an abnormal behaviour in some non-human animals, such as in birds.
Polydipsia can be characteristic of diabetes mellitus, often as an initial symptom. It is observed in cases of poorly controlled diabetes, which is sometimes the result of low patient adherence to anti-diabetic medication.
Diabetes insipidus ("tasteless" diabetes, as opposed to diabetes mellitus) can also cause polydipsia.
It can also be caused by a change in the osmolality of the extracellular fluids of the body, hypokalemia, decreased blood volume (as occurs during major hemorrhage), and other conditions that create a water deficit. This is usually a result of osmotic diuresis.
Polydipsia is also a symptom of anticholinergic poisoning. Zinc is also known to reduce symptoms of polydipsia by causing the body to absorb fluids more efficiently (reduction of diarrhea, induces constipation) and it causes the body to retain more sodium; thus a zinc deficiency can be a possible cause. The combination of polydipsia and (nocturnal) polyuria is also seen in (primary) hyperaldosteronism (which often goes with hypokalemia).
Antipsychotics can have side effects such as dry mouth that may make the patient feel thirsty.
Primary polydipsia
Primary polydipsia describes excessive thirst and water intake caused in the absence of physiological stimuli to drink. This includes both psychogenic primary polydipsia and non-psychogenic primary polydipsia, such as in patients with autoimmune chronic hepatitis with severely elevated globulin levels.
Psychogenic polydipsia is an excessive water intake seen in some patients with mental illnesses such as schizophrenia, or with developmental disabilities.
Official source
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