Decreasing Habitual Drinking

Avoiding Excessive Fluid Intake

Wherever you look these days, someone is telling you to drink 8 glasses of water a day. This is one of the reasons many women with OAB carry a water bottle with them most of the time and sip fluid throughout the day. We refer to this as habitual drinking. Habitual drinking is drinking out of habit and not out of thirst. The excessive fluid intake results in excessive urination and worsening of OAB symptoms.

Here are some suggestions that will help you to decrease your excessive fluid consumption without causing dehydration.

• Stop drinking habitually and drink only when thirsty or when doing something that is dehydrating like exercising or being outdoors in the heat. Let your thirst be the guide to fluid intake.
• Don’t keep a drink within arm’s reach. This will help you avoid sipping fluid out of habit. You are forcing yourself to make a conscious decision to get a drink because of thirst.
• If you experience dry mouth from medications, this is not an indication of thirst. It is mucous membranes of the mouth being dry. Try an over the counter product such as Biotene (gum, toothpaste, mouthwash, or spary) or OraMoist oral patch. Drinking liquids for dry mouth will result in excessive urination and worsening of OAB symptoms.