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,
Primary polydipsia Primary polydipsia Primary polydipsia is a form of polydipsia characterised by excessive fluid intake in the absence of physiological stimuli to drink. This includes psychogenic polydipsia (PPD – not to be confused with postpartum depression), which is caused by psychiatric disorders, often schizophrenia, and often accompanied by the sensation of dry mouth. Some forms of primary polydipsia are explicitly non-psychogenic. Primary polydipsia is a diagnosis of exclusion. In diagnosis, primary polydipsia is usually categorised as: The terms primary polydipsia and psychogenic polydipsia are sometimes incorrectly used interchangeably – to be considered psychogenic, the patient needs to have some other psychiatric