Primary polydipsia Alcoholism may cause physiological thirst since ethanol inhibits vasopressin, the hormone primarily responsible for water retention in osmoregulation. The following conditions should also be excluded: DI, cerebral salt wasting, pseudohyponatraemia caused by hyperlipidemia or hyperparaproteinemia, SIADH, mineralcorticoid deficiency, salt-wasting nephropathy, nephrotic syndrome, chronic heart failure and cirrhosis. Tobacco smoking is an often overlooked factor linked to hyponatremia, due to the ADH-releasing effect of nicotine, although this is usually limited to heavy smokers. One study suggested that around 70% of patients with self-induced polydipsia were tobacco smokers. Diagnostic tests for primary polydipsia usually involves the fluid deprivation test to exclude ADH
Humanistic medicine health professional schools across the U.S. have begun to integrate humanistic medical teaching into their curricula in an effort to offset what some view as an over-emphasis on medical technology to the detriment of individual patient care. It is not widely accepted that "humanistic medicine" refers to a belief or set of practices that differ significantly from the biopsychosocial model of care. Further, many of the terms used by its advocates such as "soul" and "spiritual" are not well defined nor specifically explored experimentally inasmuch as these approaches contribute to patient welfare beyond those employed by the biopsychosocial model. Humanistic