- Feeling like you need to pee right after you pee is a symptom of a urinary tract infection (UTI).
- It could also happen if you consume bladder irritants like alcohol, coffee, chocolate, and more.
- Frequent urination can also be a symptom of conditions like interstitial cystitis or pelvic issues
Do you feel like you constantly have to go to the bathroom, or find yourself needing to pee again right after you've just gone? If so, you may have, what physicians call, frequent urination.
It's normal to pee around six to eight times a day, but if you're peeing more than that –– especially if you're experiencing other related symptoms like pain or a strong, urgent need to pee –– this can be a sign of prostate, or other bladder issues.
Here are six common causes for that urgent need to pee right after you already went.
1. Drinking excessive fluids or irritants
It's expected that you will have to pee more frequently than normal, says Dr. Courtenay Moore, a urologist and clinical associate professor of urology at The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center, if:
- You are drinking excessive amounts of fluid (especially a lot at once).
- You're consuming substances that can irritate your bladder, which can make you feel like you need to pee.
- Acidic fruits or fruit juices
- Alcohol
- Carbonated drinks
- Chocolate
- Coffee
- Tea
- Tomato-based food or drinks
- Spicy foods
Treatment: The main course of action is to avoid or limit bladder irritants in your diet, says Moore. Experiment with cutting out specific food or drinks and see if this makes a difference in your frequent urges to pee.
You can also try drinking smaller amounts of liquid throughout the whole day rather than drinking large amounts all at once. This doesn't mean you should dehydrate yourself –– and in fact, dehydration can also irritate your bladder.
You still want to consume an adequate amount of fluids throughout the day, which can come from both food and drink. Men should aim for 125 ounces of fluids daily, and women should consume 91 ounces of fluids daily.
2. Urinary tract infection (UTI)
If harmful bacteria enter the urinary tract, an infection can ensue. Urinary tract infections can cause inflammation in the bladder, which in turn causes the bladder to become overactive, says Dr. Ramesh Krishnan, a urologist at Memorial Hermann Medical Group.
Aside from frequent urination, other UTI symptoms include:
- Pain or pressure in the abdomen or pelvis
- Painful urination
- Pee that's bloody, cloudy, or smelly
- Urgent need to urinate
Treatment: A doctor can test a urine sample to see if you have a UTI. Since bacteria cause UTIs, Krishnan says the treatment is antibiotics. It's important to treat UTIs and finish the course of antibiotics as prescribed so the infection doesn't progress further to the kidneys, which can cause permanent kidney damage in severe cases.
3. Overactive bladder (OAB)
People with an overactive bladder experience frequent and urgent urges to urinate. This happens because:
- The bladder is more sensitive, which can create the sensation that you need to pee even if you only have a tiny bit of urine in your bladder, says Moore.
- You may experience abnormal involuntary contractions of the bladder, which can also cause the feeling that you need to pee.
Other OAB symptoms include:
- Intense sudden urge to urinate followed by uncontrolled leakage (known as urgency incontinence).
- Peeing eight or more times in a 24-hour period.
- Waking up two or more times in the middle of the night to pee.
OAB is broad, and there are many possible underlying causes, such as:
- Bladder obstructions
- Cognitive function decline
- Consuming too many bladder irritants like caffeine or alcohol
- Diabetes
- Hormonal changes
- Medication side effects
- Neurological disorders
Treatment: Determining an underlying cause and treating it can help reduce symptoms. Additionally, Moore says some treatment approaches for OAB include:
- Dietary modification to avoid bladder irritants
- Pelvic physical therapy
- Bladder training (practicing holding in your pee for longer)
- Oral medications
- Botox injections into the bladder
- Nerve stimulation
4. Interstitial cystitis (IC)
Interstitial cystitis, sometimes referred to as painful bladder syndrome, is a chronic condition that results in pain in the pelvic region and frequent urination.
Moore says people with IC tend to go to the bathroom a lot since peeing can temporarily relieve the bladder pain they're experiencing, and pain is worse when the bladder is full.
As a result, people with IC tend to pee just a little bit, frequently throughout the day.
The pain can range from mild to severe. In severe cases, Moore says you may even go to the bathroom around 50 times a day. The condition is much more common in women than men.
Treatment: There isn't a specific test for IC, so testing will involve ruling out infections and cancer. If IC is the suspected diagnosis, treatment options are very similar to OAB treatment, including:
- Dietary modification to avoid bladder irritants
- Pelvic physical therapy
- Bladder training (practicing holding in your pee for longer)
- Oral medications
- Botox injections into the bladder
- Nerve stimulation
In more severe cases, Moore says a surgical procedure called cystoscopy with hydrodistension can help stretch the bladder so you can comfortably hold more urine.
5. Pelvic floor issues
The pelvic floor refers to the group of muscles that support your pelvic organs. Some issues with the pelvic floor can result in frequent urination.
For example, pelvic floor dysfunction may cause your pelvic floor muscles to spasm, which results in feeling like you need to pee a lot, says Moore. Other symptoms of pelvic floor dysfunction include:
- Urine leakage
- Straining when you pee (feeling like you need to push it out)
- Painful urination
- Stool leakage
- Constipation
- Pelvic pain
Pelvic floor dysfunction can occur in both women and men. But pelvic organ prolapse, another pelvic issue, only occurs in women.
The symptoms of pelvic organ prolapse include:
- A sensation of pressure or fullness in the vagina
- A bulge in the vaigna
- Difficulty starting your stream of urine
- Feeling like you can't fully empty your bladder
- Leaking urine
Treatment: The main treatment for pelvic floor issues is pelvic floor physical therapy which will help you learn how to retrain and relax your pelvic floor muscles.
In the case of pelvic organ prolapse, on top of physical therapy, using a device called a pessary that's inserted into the vagina, which can help support and stabilize the organs. In more severe cases, you may need surgery.
6. Prostate issues
In men, prostate issues, particularly an enlarged prostate, can cause frequent urges to pee, says Krishnan.
A common cause of this is benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH), or benign prostate gland enlargement. Aside from frequent urination, other symptoms include:
- Urgent needs to pee
- Peeing in the middle of the night
- Trouble starting the flow of urine
- Trouble completely emptying the bladder
- Having a weak flow of pee
- Dribbling pee
BPH is more likely the cause, but it's possible a more serious problem, such as prostate cancer is causing your frequent urination. On top of frequent bathroom visits, some other prostate cancer symptoms include:
- Slow, weak urine stream
- Bloody urine or semen
- Erectile dysfunction
Treatment: If your enlarged prostate is benign, treatment typically involves medications or minimally invasive procedures, says Krishnan. In some severe cases, more invasive surgeries may be necessary.
If cancer is the cause of your prostate trouble, common treatment options are surgery, chemotherapy, and radiation therapy.
Insider's takeaway
Peeing more than six to eight times a day and feeling like you need to pee even though you've recently peed are signs of frequent urination.
Since there are many possible reasons for frequent urination, it's best to see a doctor if you're experiencing symptoms so you can determine the cause and the right course of treatment.
