Find information on thousands of medical conditions and prescription drugs.

Psychogenic polydipsia

Psychogenic polydipsia is a special form of polydipsia, caused by mental disorders. more...

Home
Diseases
A
B
C
D
E
F
G
H
I
J
K
L
M
N
O
P
Arthritis
Arthritis
Bubonic plague
Hypokalemia
Pachydermoperiostosis
Pachygyria
Pacman syndrome
Paget's disease of bone
Paget's disease of the...
Palmoplantar Keratoderma
Pancreas divisum
Pancreatic cancer
Panhypopituitarism
Panic disorder
Panniculitis
Panophobia
Panthophobia
Papilledema
Paraganglioma
Paramyotonia congenita
Paraphilia
Paraplegia
Parapsoriasis
Parasitophobia
Parkinson's disease
Parkinson's disease
Parkinsonism
Paroxysmal nocturnal...
Patau syndrome
Patent ductus arteriosus
Pathophobia
Patterson...
Pediculosis
Pelizaeus-Merzbacher disease
Pelvic inflammatory disease
Pelvic lipomatosis
Pemphigus
Pemphigus
Pemphigus
Pendred syndrome
Periarteritis nodosa
Perinatal infections
Periodontal disease
Peripartum cardiomyopathy
Peripheral neuropathy
Peritonitis
Periventricular leukomalacia
Pernicious anemia
Perniosis
Persistent sexual arousal...
Pertussis
Pes planus
Peutz-Jeghers syndrome
Peyronie disease
Pfeiffer syndrome
Pharmacophobia
Phenylketonuria
Pheochromocytoma
Photosensitive epilepsy
Pica (disorder)
Pickardt syndrome
Pili multigemini
Pilonidal cyst
Pinta
PIRA
Pityriasis lichenoides...
Pityriasis lichenoides et...
Pityriasis rubra pilaris
Placental abruption
Pleural effusion
Pleurisy
Pleuritis
Plummer-Vinson syndrome
Pneumoconiosis
Pneumocystis jiroveci...
Pneumocystosis
Pneumonia, eosinophilic
Pneumothorax
POEMS syndrome
Poland syndrome
Poliomyelitis
Polyarteritis nodosa
Polyarthritis
Polychondritis
Polycystic kidney disease
Polycystic ovarian syndrome
Polycythemia vera
Polydactyly
Polymyalgia rheumatica
Polymyositis
Polyostotic fibrous...
Pompe's disease
Popliteal pterygium syndrome
Porencephaly
Porphyria
Porphyria cutanea tarda
Portal hypertension
Portal vein thrombosis
Post Polio syndrome
Post-traumatic stress...
Postural hypotension
Potophobia
Poxviridae disease
Prader-Willi syndrome
Precocious puberty
Preeclampsia
Premature aging
Premenstrual dysphoric...
Presbycusis
Primary biliary cirrhosis
Primary ciliary dyskinesia
Primary hyperparathyroidism
Primary lateral sclerosis
Primary progressive aphasia
Primary pulmonary...
Primary sclerosing...
Prinzmetal's variant angina
Proconvertin deficiency,...
Proctitis
Progeria
Progressive external...
Progressive multifocal...
Progressive supranuclear...
Prostatitis
Protein S deficiency
Protein-energy malnutrition
Proteus syndrome
Prune belly syndrome
Pseudocholinesterase...
Pseudogout
Pseudohermaphroditism
Pseudohypoparathyroidism
Pseudomyxoma peritonei
Pseudotumor cerebri
Pseudovaginal...
Pseudoxanthoma elasticum
Psittacosis
Psoriasis
Psychogenic polydipsia
Psychophysiologic Disorders
Pterygium
Ptosis
Pubic lice
Puerperal fever
Pulmonary alveolar...
Pulmonary hypertension
Pulmonary sequestration
Pulmonary valve stenosis
Pulmonic stenosis
Pure red cell aplasia
Purpura
Purpura, Schoenlein-Henoch
Purpura, thrombotic...
Pyelonephritis
Pyoderma gangrenosum
Pyomyositis
Pyrexiophobia
Pyrophobia
Pyropoikilocytosis
Pyrosis
Pyruvate kinase deficiency
Uveitis
Q
R
S
T
U
V
W
X
Y
Z
Medicines

The patient drinks large amounts of water, which raises the pressure of the extracellular medium. As a side effect, the antidiuretic hormone level is lowered. The urine produced by these patients will have a low electrolyte concentration and it will be produced in large quantities (polyuria).

Read more at Wikipedia.org


[List your site here Free!]


Overhydration
From Gale Encyclopedia of Medicine, 4/6/01 by Maureen Haggerty

Definition

Overhydration, also called water excess or water intoxication, is a condition in which the body contains too much water.

Description

Overhydration occurs when the body takes in more water than it excretes and its normal sodium level is diluted. This can result in digestive problems, behavioral changes, brain damage, seizures, or coma. An adult whose heart, kidneys, and pituitary gland are functioning properly would have to drink more than two gallons of water a day to develop water intoxication. This condition is most common in patients whose kidney function is impaired and may occurs when doctors, nurses, or other healthcare professionals administer greater amounts of water-producing fluids and medications than the patient's body can excrete. Overhydration is the most common electrolyte imbalance in hospitals, occurring in about 2% of all patients.

Infants seem to be at greater risk for developing overhydration. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has declared that babies are especially susceptible to oral overhydration during the first month of life, when the kidneys' filtering mechanism is too immature to excrete fluid as rapidly as older infants do. Breast milk or formula provide all the fluids a healthy baby needs. Water should be given slowly, sparingly, and only during extremely hot weather. Overhydration, which has been cited as a hazard of infant swimming lessons, occurs whenever a baby drinks too much water, excretes too little fluid, or consumes and retains too much water.

Causes & symptoms

Drinking too much water rarely causes overhydration when the body's systems are working normally. People with heart, kidney, or liver disease are more likely to develop overhydration because their kidneys are unable to excrete water normally. It may be necessary for people with these disorders to restrict the amount of water they drink and/or adjust the amount of salt in their diets.

Since the brain is the organ most susceptible to overhydration, a change in behavior is usually the first symptom of water intoxication. The patient may become confused, drowsy, or inattentive. Shouting and delirium are common. Other symptoms of overhydration may include blurred vision, muscle cramps and twitching, paralysis on one side of the body, poor coordination, nausea and vomiting, rapid breathing, sudden weight gain, and weakness. The patient's complexion is normal or flushed. Blood pressure is sometimes higher than normal, but elevations may not be noticed even when the degree of water intoxication is serious.

Overhydration can cause acidosis (a condition in which blood and body tissues have an abnormally high acid content), anemia, cyanosis (a condition that occurs when oxygen levels in the blood drop sharply), hemorrhage, and shock. The brain is the organ most vulnerable to the effects of overhydration. If excess fluid levels accumulate gradually, the brain may be able to adapt to them and the patient will have only a few symptoms. If the condition develops rapidly, confusion, seizures, and coma are likely to occur.

Risk factors

Chronic illness, malnutrition, a tendency to retain water, and kidney diseases and disorders increase the likelihood of becoming overhydrated. Infants and the elderly seem to be at increased risk for overhydration, as are people with certain mental disorders or alcoholism.

Diagnosis

Before treatment can begin, a doctor must determine whether a patient's symptoms are due to overhydration, in which excess water is found within and outside cells, or excess blood volume, in which high sodium levels prevent the body from storing excess water inside the cells. Overhydration is characterized by excess water both within and around the body's cells, while excess blood volume occurs when the body has too much sodium and can't move water to reservoirs within the cells. In cases of overhydration, symptoms of fluid accumulation don't usually occur. On the other hand, in cases of excess blood volume, fluid tends to accumulate around cells in the lower legs, abdomen, and chest. Overhydration can occur alone or in conjunction with excess blood volume, and differentiating between these two conditions may be difficult.

Treatment

Mild overhydration can generally be corrected by following a doctor's instructions to limit fluid intake. In more serious cases, diuretics may be prescribed to increase urination, although these drugs tend to be most effective in the treatment of excess blood volume. Identifying and treating any underlying condition (such as impaired heart or kidney function) is a priority, and fluid restrictions are a critical component of every treatment plan.

In patients with severe neurologic symptoms, fluid imbalances must be corrected without delay. A powerful diuretic and fluids to restore normal sodium concentrations are administered rapidly at first. When the patient has absorbed 50% of the therapeutic substances, blood levels are measured. Therapy is continued at a more moderate pace in order to prevent brain damage as a result of sudden changes in blood chemistry.

Prognosis

Mild water intoxication is usually corrected by drinking less than a quart of water a day for several days. Untreated water intoxication can be fatal, but this outcome is quite rare.

Further Reading

For Your Information

    Books

  • Gillenwater, Jay Y., et al, eds. Adult and Pediatric Urology. St. Louis: Mosby, 1997.
  • Tierney, Lawrence M. Jr., et al, eds. Current Medical Diagnosis & Treatment. Stamford, CT: Appleton & Lange, 1998.

    Other

  • Most Young Babies Don't Need Water. http://204.71.177.76/headlines/970819/health/stories/water_1.html (17 May 1998).

Gale Encyclopedia of Medicine. Gale Research, 1999.

Return to Psychogenic polydipsia
Home Contact Resources Exchange Links ebay