Excessive thirst

Most of the time if you're feeling thirsty it's because you need to drink more fluids.

This can happen if you:

• sweat a lot after doing exercise
• are unwell with sickness and diarrhoea
• do not drink enough fluids
• drink too much alcohol or caffeine
• eat salty or spicy food
• have a high temperature
• are pregnant

• drinking more fluids for several days has not helped
• you frequently need to pee
• you're pregnant

The GP will check if your excessive thirst is being caused by something – for example, diabetes , anaemia or medicines you're taking.

The treatment you have will depend on what's causing your excessive thirst.

Causes of thirst include sweating after exercise, sickness and diarrhoea, not drinking enough fluids, drinking too much alcohol, and being pregnant.