October 9, 2006
Diagnosis and Symptoms
Question from Wahiawa, Hawaii, USA:
How much is considered “excessive thirst?” My husband and I were talking about how much water our 16 month old daughter is drinking out of her bottles and I started getting concerned. She is taking about 50 to 60 ounces of water a day. Last night, she drank seven, eight ounce bottles of water in a 12 hour period. Of course, she urinates a lot because of all the water. She gets pretty upset if she wants her “ba ba” and we don’t get it for her immediately. I tested her blood sugar yesterday afternoon after eating and it was 168 mg/dl [9.3 mmol/L], but this morning her fasting blood sugar was 75 mg/dl [4.2 mmol/L]. My husband thinks that she is just addicted to the bottle. Maybe that is the problem. She is pretty healthy except for a fever a few weeks ago.
Answer:
I think this amount is excessive and I would definitely see the pediatrician to make sure nothing else is wrong (such as something causing excess thirst like diabetes insipidous or any problems such as electrolyte imbalance resulting from so much water).
MN
