It is normal to have more urine or frequently end up in the toilet when a person gets nervous because of big stress such as facing examinations or job interviews for the first time. This is also normal when a person is exposed to cold temperatures that are unusual on a daily basis. Health screening might help a person identify what is normal and what is wrong with their urine system. In this article, we will be understanding more about polyuria, anuria and oliguria.
The three terms mentioned above may seem new to most people and certainly can get a bit confusing to be understood at first but one thing for sure, these three words describe different conditions relating to the urine and most often are associated with many medical issues. Before knowing what is wrong with the urine, you might want to know more about the normal urine itself.
The urinary system mainly works to filter blood and produce urine as it wastes product. It also helps to regulate blood pressure and maintain the level of biochemical of blood in the body. Organs such as kidney and bladder alongside ureter and urethra play a role in the urinary system. A normal urine colour should be pale yellow with volume or urine output of 750 to 2000 mL in 24 hours. The three terms of polyuria, anuria and oliguria revolve around changes in the urine volume.
Polyuria
Urine output of more than 3L per day. Polyuria should not be assumed to be the same as an increase of urinary frequency where the need to urinate multiple times throughout the day but still in normal or slightly less than normal volumes. Polyuria is common in adults taking antihypertensive medications, specifically diuretics and uncontrolled diabetes mellitus.
Anuria
Urine output of less than 50 ml in 24 hours. There are a number of causes responsible for anuria including kidney impairment, obstruction to the urinary tract such as from kidney stones or severe infection.
Oliguria
Urine output that is less than 400 ml per 24 hours. There are numerous causes for oliguria and mainly is divided into 3 categories which are prerenal; conditions affecting blood flow, renal; kidney disorder and postrenal; obstruction to the outlet of the urine.
- Prerenal causes: loss of blood from bleeding, loss of fluid or insufficient fluid replacement in dehydrated condition, heart disease such as myocardial infarction and heart failure(heart health), extreme response to infection known as sepsis
- Renal causes: damages to the kidney such as from contrast agent used in x-ray imaging test, nephrotoxic drugs such as certain antibiotics and nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) or muscle injury causing rapid dissolution of damaged muscle known as rhabdomyolysis
- Postrenal causes: mechanical obstruction such as from a blocked urinary catheter and urine stone (urinary calculi) or dysfunction of the bladder/sphincter from anticholinergic drugs, urinary retention after an operation and severe impacted stool
It can be concluded that polyuria is excess urine production, oliguria is a low urine output and anuria is no urine output. These three terms are described as symptoms and not a disease. Since there are many causes relating to the changes in the urine production, it is best to get medical advice as soon as there are sudden changes to the usual urine for medical professionals to make further investigation regarding its possible causes. Treatment to each condition varies according to the underlying causes. All information mentioned above regarding urine production and changes is exclusively for adults and is different to children or infants. If you have any questions or enquiry regarding the urinary system, feel free to ask healthcare professionals closest to you. If you are worried about your urine condition, you may want to meet doctors and discuss it.
