Polydipsia Polydipsia Polydipsia is excessive thirst or excess drinking. The word derives from the Greek () "very thirsty", which is derived from (, "much, many") + (, "thirst"). Polydipsia is a nonspecific symptom in various medical disorders. It also occurs as an abnormal behaviour in some non-human animals, such as in birds. This symptom is characteristically found in diabetics, often as one of the initial symptoms, and in those who fail to take their anti-diabetic medications or whose condition is poorly controlled. It can also be caused by a change in the osmolality of the extracellular fluids of the body, hypokalemia,
Minimally disruptive medicine Minimally disruptive medicine Minimally Disruptive Medicine is an approach to patient care in chronic illness proposed by Carl R May, Victor Montori, and Frances Mair. In a 2009 article in the British Medical Journal they argued that the burden of illness (the pathophysiological and psychosocial impact of disease on the sufferer) has its counterpart in the burden of treatment (the workload delegated to the patient by health professionals, which may include self care and self-monitoring, managing therapeutic regimens, organizing doctors’ visits, tests, and insurance). As medical responses to illness have become more sophisticated, the burden of treatment has grown, and