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Excessive thirst, scientifically called polydipsia, is a symptom that can arise for simple reasons, such as after a meal in which too much salt was ingested or after periods of intense exercise. However, in some cases, it can be an indicator of some disease or situation that must be controlled and, in these cases, it is important to pay attention to other symptoms that may arise, such as tiredness, headache, vomiting or diarrhea, for example.
Some of the most common causes of excessive thirst are:
1. Salty food
Generally, eating food with a lot of salt causes a lot of thirst, which is the body's response, which needs more water, to eliminate excess salt.
What to do: The ideal is to avoid eating foods with excess salt, because in addition to increasing thirst, it also increases the risk of developing diseases, such as hypertension. See a good way to replace salt in your diet.
2. Extreme exercise
The practice of intense physical exercise leads to the loss of fluids through sweat, causing the body to increase its fluid intake needs, leading to a feeling of thirst.
What to do: It is very important to drink fluids during and after exercise, in order to avoid dehydration. In addition, the person can opt for isotonic drinks, which contain water and mineral salts, as is the case of the Gatorade drink, for example.
3. Diabetes
One of the first symptoms that usually appear in people with diabetes is excessive thirst. This happens because the body is inefficient to use or produce the insulin, necessary to transport sugar to the cells, eventually being eliminated in the urine, leading to greater water losses.
Learn how to identify the first symptoms of diabetes.
What to do: If there is a lot of thirst accompanied by other symptoms, such as excessive hunger, weight loss, tiredness, dry mouth or frequent urge to urinate, you should go to the general practitioner, who will do tests to see if the person has diabetes, identify the type of diabetes and prescribe the appropriate treatment.
4. Vomiting and diarrhea
When episodes of vomiting and diarrhea arise, the person loses a lot of fluids, so the excessive thirst that arises is a defense of the body to prevent dehydration.
What to do: It is advisable to drink a lot of water or ingest oral rehydration solutions, every time the person vomits or has an episode of diarrhea.
5. Medicines
Some medications, such as diuretics, lithium and antipsychotics, for example, can cause a lot of thirst as a side effect.
What to do: To mitigate the side effect of the medication, the person can drink small amounts of water throughout the day. In some cases, in which the person feels a lot of discomfort, he should talk to the doctor in order to consider an alternative.
6. Dehydration
Dehydration happens when the water available in the body is insufficient for its proper functioning, generating symptoms such as excessive thirst, dry mouth, severe headache and tiredness.
What to do: To avoid dehydration, you should drink about 2L of fluids per day, which can be done by drinking water, teas, juices, milk and soup, for example. In addition, the consumption of water-rich fruits and vegetables also contributes to the hydration of the body.
Watch the following video and find out which foods are rich in water: