WHY DO I WEE SO MUCH?

Looking at one unusual reason which might cause some women to start to wee more frequently, particularly as they get older.

It seems to be just one of those things in life, that as you get older little niggly things start to pile up. Not necessarily bad things, just niggly things, such as wanting to wee more often than normal.

Now, this can happen at any stage in life and the cause is usually easy to pinpoint. Things such as:

• drinking too many caffeinated drinks like tea, coffee, cola or energy drinks (caffeine is a diuretic and causes you to pass urine more frequently)

• drinking too much alcohol, which also makes you wee more

• drinking lots more fluid than normal for you (if you up your intake of fluids it usually takes your body three weeks to adjust)

• cystitis - this is a common infection where the bladder gets irritated. It is more common in women and is usually mild and clears up on its own. although it can need antibiotics if persistent or frequent.

There are many other causes of wanting to wee too much, and if you are suffering from this on a regular basis then you should see your Dr.

However, there is one reason that you may not have considered that could be the culprit, and that is your soap. shower gel or body wash.

Some years ago I started wanting to use the toilet on a more frequent basis. Then I realised that sometimes I just needed to go more often in the morning and I was fine the rest of the day. Sometimes I needed to go in the morning and during the night, but was fine the rest of the time. It was most curious.

Why do I wee so much?

It took me a long time to realise that it was actually a result of the body wash that I was using. I used it in the shower in the morning and, although I had no symptoms whatsoever, it was obviously irritating the area around or inside my uretha (the tube that empties your urine from your bladder). After I had passed water all morning I had obviously flushed whatever was causing the problem out, the irritation settled down and I was fine for the rest of the day. Sometimes I would have a shower or a bath in the evening before bed, and sure enough, if I did then I'd be up in the night wanting to wee. No bath or shower before bed - no getting up in the night for a wee.

I couldn't quite understand why this would be as I was using a natural body wash. It wasn't the case that I was over applying the product or washing too vigorously either, and even if I rinsed myself off extremely well, the problem remained.

However I had pinpointed what I thought was the problem so started experimenting with different natural products and found that some did not make me wee more frequently so since then have stuck to the ones I know are safe for me to use.

If you find yourself wanting to wee more often than usual, but with no other symptoms (such as a burning, itching or soreness) or just for a period of time after you have had a shower or bath and used shower gel, body wash or soap, it's definitely worth a try to experiment with changing your products.

Soap is usually the worst offender of all, I won't put soap anywhere near my face or body anymore as even natural ones are too harsh for my post chemotherapy skin (although I can still use them on my hands). Body washes and shower gels need to be free of any 'parfum' or 'fragrance' in the ingredients, even if they say they are 'naturally derived' (what isn't if you take it back to basics). This one ingredient (parfum or fragrance) can have up to 200 individual ingredients in it and is just unnecessary. It could also be down to the harshness of the preservative that is used and how you react to it, or even a reaction to a particular essential oil, although despite my super sensitive skin, I have never had a reaction to any essential oil products.

As an aside, what I do find quite shocking is the amount of natural skincare products that contain 'parfum' or 'fragrance' as an ingredient. I get to test so many products and am fed up of finding what I think are really quite good formulations with fragrance in them, why not use an essential oil? Yes, it will cost a little more but at least it will be a better product! See my review of Aveeno Skin Relief Body Oil Spray for a prime example!

The shower gels and body washes that I use that don't set me off into mega wee mode are Tisserand's Bath and Shower Wash (I use the Total De-Stress with geranium, nutmeg and orange) and any of the ones from Green People. Both of these brands are available from Amazon or other good online retailers or stores. I am sure that there are others, it's just that now I've found ones that don't set me off, I'm not that keen to try others out anymore!

You will be more prone to this issue as you get older as it usually stems from the drop in oestrogen that makes you more susceptible, although younger people with the same issue may just be sensitive to the ingredients in the shower gels or body washes. It goes without saying that you should not be using any mainstream products which usually contain ingredients like SLS or SLES as these really are quite harsh ingredient for delicate areas. Check out my article on 15 Ingredients to Avoid in Skincare Products and What is Clean Beauty?

Why do I wee so much? If you are finding that you want to wee more often, are you going more frequently after you have used soap, shower gel, body wash or bubble bath? Note: even intimate wash products can cause problems too! If so, a simple change of product might just do the trick like it did for me!

You might like my article on Natural Ways to Manage Anxiety and Top Tips on Buying Electric Bikes for Women.

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