Do you wake up needing to urinate several times during the night? This is called nocturia and there is a cure for it.

People tend to assume that at a certain age, things happen to us that can be defined as irreversible. No matter how much we deny it, it will happen no matter what. “That’s the price of living,” we like to tell ourselves. But it’s not. At least, it’s not always. One of the most common problems is nocturia – an uncontrollable urge to urinate that systematically disrupts the sleep of many people at least twice a night. If this happens to you, rest assured that you are not alone. The best thing about everything you are about to read from here on out is that you have a solution.

“Waking up one day with the urge to go to the toilet is completely normal. Especially if it happens at six in the morning and you get up at seven to go to work. The most difficult thing begins when this situation is repeated at least twice a night,” explains urologist José Gregorio Pereira of the IMQ health network. In addition to the discomfort, rest is disrupted and the sufferer ends up suffering from a lack of sleep that it causes during the day, one day in a row and the next too.

Nocturia, as it is also called, is a complication associated with aging, although it does not only affect the elderly. Although they are few, urologists also see patients as young as 30. However, it usually reaches 50, “when the equipment starts to fail.” After 70, the disease takes on epidemic proportions and now affects three out of every five people.

The population tends to think that it is a man’s business, but it occurs in both sexes, and in fact it is something more – a little more – in women. In particular, 25% of men and 31% of women between the ages of 30 and 50 suffer from it. After that, the scales tend to balance out.

There are no topics

Another idea about this disease, as widespread as it is false, is that it is caused primarily by prostate insufficiency in men and decreased bladder capacity in women. This is only a half-truth. Neither circumstance is the main cause of this disorder. No matter how many times your neighbor tells you he saw it on the Internet, it is not true. They only account for 25% of cases. There are habits, health problems and even treatments that contribute to nocturia and therefore, with the right treatment, allow us to overcome it.

Uncontrollable urge to pee is not nonsense. It significantly conditions the social life of those affected, since their emergency situations are not always well understood; and it affects – and very strongly – their work and emotional relationships. Lack of restful sleep leads to increased daytime sleepiness and, with it, to memory impairment, mood deterioration, irritability, anxiety…

That’s why, if you go to the doctor looking for a solution, the specialist will start by examining the patient’s habits and customs. “The first thing you need to know is whether you wake up because of the urge to urinate or you feel it because you wake up,” the specialist explains.

Even sleep apnea

The kidneys remain active while you sleep, they continue to produce fluid. But of course, if you drink too much, they will be forced to work at full capacity and will take you to the toilet more often. If this happens to you, do not drink two hours before bedtime. Some drinks, such as coffee, tea and infusions in general, should also be avoided six hours before bedtime due to their enormous diuretic power.

Likewise, there are diseases that cause uncontrollable urges to go to the toilet. Heart failure leads to kidney problems and fluid retention. It is also promoted by diabetes and so-called diabetes insipidus, which occurs precisely when the body cannot properly manage fluid.

The list of health problems that exacerbate it is long, but perhaps one that deserves special mention, curiously enough, is sleep apnea, which is breathing problems in people who snore. The lack of oxygen in the lungs activates a defense mechanism that narrows the arteries. This blood pressure is transmitted to the heart, which in response produces a substance (a peptide) associated with the urge to urinate. Some drugs, such as those for hypertension, are also diuretics, and help where it is not wanted.

Controlling all these aspects helps. But if not, for now doctors can still prescribe a drug that “works very well” and has started to be used to help children who wet the bed… There is more good news. The industry already has another highly developed drug that is being pinned with great hopes. “We live in a society that prioritizes quality of life; and the industry,” muses José Gregorio Pereira, “is exploring everything that business can mean. Well-being has a price.

KEYS