Constant thirst could be warning sign of medical conditions
Body may be sending wake-up call, Parkland physician says
Feeling parched lately? Is your mouth morphing into something straight out of the desert? Do you have a hankering for a bottomless glass of H2O? According to Parkland Health & Hospital System physicians, these may be signs that your body is sending a wake-up call that something could be physically wrong.
But physicians caution against passing off excessive thirst to the bag of salty chips or the hunk of ham you just polished off.
“The body has a way of telling you when there’s an issue,” said Noel Santini, MD, Senior Medical Director of Ambulatory Services at Parkland. “The problem is a lot of times we don’t heed the warning.”
Any condition that alters your water or salt balance can trigger thirst, but it could also signal conditions such as diabetes, diabetes insipidus, dry mouth, anemia, low blood pressure, or a basic change in your diet.
People with diabetes may experience frequent urination, excessive thirst, unexplained weight loss, extreme hunger, blurry vision, tingling or numbness in hands or feet, recurring fatigue, very dry skin, slow-healing sores, or more infections than usual.
If not well managed, diabetes can seriously impact a person's quality of life. Complications, many of which are preventable, include heart disease, stroke, blindness, kidney failure, foot or leg amputations, nerve damage and complications of pregnancy. More than 29 million Americans have been diagnosed with the disease and another 86 million have prediabetes, according to the American Diabetes Association. Nine out of 10 people do not know that they have prediabetes.
Although diabetes insipidus isn't related to the diabetes most people are familiar with, it does share some of the same signs and symptoms, such as dehydration and a busy bladder.
“Diabetes insipidus is characterized by a hormone imbalance in your body that affects water absorption,” Dr. Santini said. “Because you lose vast amounts of water through your urine, thirst strikes as your body tries to compensate for the fluid loss.”
Another condition associated with excessive thirst is dry mouth. The National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research list dry mouth, also called xerostomia, as the condition of not having enough saliva, or spit, to keep the mouth wet. Dry mouth can happen to anyone occasionally – for example, when nervous or stressed. However, when dry mouth persists, it can make chewing, eating, swallowing and even talking difficult. Dry mouth also increases the risk for tooth decay because saliva helps keep harmful germs that cause cavities and other oral infections in check. Many over-the-counter and prescription medicines can also affect the salivary glands.
Chronic stress is a warning sign to watch, Dr. Santini cautions. When the stress is severe this could result in low blood pressure that can cause dizziness, depression and anxiety as well as extreme thirst.
“The bottom line is when you’re experiencing excessive thirst that persists, don’t just write it off as the time of year or something you ate,” Dr. Santini said. “Make an appointment with your physician and get a check-up. Early intervention could be the key to a potential dangerous medical condition.”
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