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,
Polydipsia in birds has been experimentally induced in pigeons, budgerigars and ducks, by the administration of lithium chloride (LiCl). The polydipsic effect was greatest in budgerigars, a desert-dwelling species with a well-developed fluid retention system, and least in ducks, a species with an efficient sodium-secretion system. In waterfowl, polydipsia can be a symptom of duck virus enteritis. Polydipsia has also been listed as a symptom of many diseases, including In hens, lesions of the supraoptic hypothalamus of the brain can result in polydipsia. Polydipsia sometimes occurs under housing or experimental conditions which purportedly lead to stress or frustration. Growing parent stock of meat-type