This is how often you should wee & when you should be worried
EACH person may urinate a different number of times per day depending on a number of factors including how much they drink and how well their kidneys work.
It's considered normal to have to urinate about four to 10 times in a 24-hour period. But how your bladder functions can tell you a lot about your overall health.
How often you have to urinate is a good indicator of your body’s overall state of hydration.
If you’re going more often than the average amount, it could simply mean that you may be drinking too much fluid but frequent urination can be a sign of more serious conditions.
If you’ve ever wondered how often you should wee on a daily basis, you’re not alone.
But don’t worry, we’ve spoken to some experts to find out when you should be worried.
Dr Kenny Sui, from , is an NHS and Harley Street GP with a wealth of experience.
The expert said: “Your fluid intake for the day will directly affect how often you go to wee.
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“It is said anything between 4-10 times in 24-hours could be considered ‘normal’ in the absence of other symptoms.
“Certain drinks can increase the amount of times you go to the toilet, for example caffeine and alcohol.
“Again extremes could indicate a problem. You don’t want to urinate only once a day nor do you want to go 20 times a day.
“You also want to notice the urination ‘experience’ - is it painful? Is there blood? Is the flow poor? Does it take a while for the wee to come out?”
Dr Kenny added that it may be uncomfortable for people but doctors talk about pooing and weeing every day, multiple times over so patients should never feel embarrassed.
The expert reminded people that they should look out for changes in their urine stream - as this could be something to be worried about.
He said if it takes you five minutes before you can urinate, and it comes out in dribbles – it’s time to speak to your doctor.
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Meanwhile Giulia Guerrini, the lead pharmacist at also shared her expertise on how often you should wee and when you should be worried.
The expert commented: “If you drink two litres of water per day (the recommended amount), you’ll usually pee between six and eight times a day.
“If you need to wee more often than that, it could be because you drink more fluids, have too much caffeine (which is a diuretic), or because you take medications that make you pee more (it can be a side effect of some medications which lower blood pressure).
“If you’re pregnant or just gave birth, peeing more often is actually quite common and is a sign that your pelvic muscle isn’t well supported.
“But if your urination frequency affects your daily life – for example, if you always wake up at night to wee and your sleeping pattern is affected, or if you leak urine before being able to reach the toilet – book an appointment with your GP to look into it further and discuss treatments.”
Meanwhile , the founder of private men’s health services H3 Health, added that how often we urinate is easily altered by age, how much we drink, what we are doing (exercise) as well as hot and cold environments.
He agreed that on average, people tend to wee between six and eight times in a 24-hour period.
If you are not someone who drinks a lot naturally and are worried you may not be drinking enough, avoid the gadgets, and just look at your urine. it should be the colour of light straw.
In terms of output - this is much more closely associated with input, he explained. Dr Jeff Foster pointed out that if you drink more, you pee more.
He commented: “One of the most annoying things I see are apps, devices, or gadgets that remind you to drink water.
“We have a very sophisticated system called our brain which will tell us when we need to drink by making us thirsty.
“If you are not someone who drinks a lot naturally and are worried you may not be drinking enough, avoid the gadgets, and just look at your urine. it should be the colour of light straw.
“If it is dark you know you need to drink more, simple!”
Dr Jeff Foster also pointed out signs to be worried about - which are different for men and women.
He said women need to look out for increased frequency, burning, stinging, blood or very dark colour, features of temperatures, fevers or flu like symptoms and getting up at night more.
While men need to look out for all of the above as well as feeling of incomplete emptying, difficulty starting and stopping, dribbling after getting up at night and more reduced flow.
Elsewhere intimate Health Expert and Founder of Stephanie Taylor, added while it can be tempting to take your time when you’re going to the toilet, this can actually be very damaging to your health in more ways than one.
She explained that your pelvic health can suffer while hovering on the loo for too long can weaken the muscles and encourage urine to dribble intermittently, rather than just start and stop.
She explained: “This can eventually cause incontinence or even prolapse, so try to keep the process succinct to avoid long-lasting damage.
“It can cause problems on the other end, too. 10-minute toilet sessions could give you haemorrhoids by putting extra pressure on the veins that are at risk of bleeding.”
Elsewhere in health, binge drinking might be SAFER than little and often, scientists discover.
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