Urology Shivers: Why Cooler Temps Lead to Certain Urinary Conditions

Urology Shivers: Why Cooler Temps Lead to Certain Urinary Conditions

This is the title of an article that sheds considerable light on my current condition that manifested once I arrived in a chilly Melbourne a few days ago. Here are some excerpts from the article.

Ongoing research indicates that while our bodies adjust to colder temperatures, some functions have to catch up, and this can cause a lapse in efficiency. In the urinary systems, the lapse could contribute to overactive bladder (OAB) and urinary tract infections (UTIs). 

You may have noticed that when you are out in the cold, you have to go to the bathroom more often This is because the kidneys are making more urine to compensate for other bodily cold-weather “tricks.”

1. Trick one: The body preserves warmth around the internal organs by reducing blood flow to the skin.  

1. Trick two: This change causes blood pressure to increase, meaning more blood pumps through the body. 

1. Trick three: The kidneys, which filter waste out of all that blood, must produce more urine to meet their filtering demand.  

1. Trick four: We sweat less in the winter and therefore lose less fluid, so there’s more urine stored in our bodies. 

The result: We have to pee more.

People whose bladders are weakened due to age, excess weight, or childbirth, might not be able to keep up with this increased frequency. It doesn’t help that when our body temperature lowers, the muscles around the bladder are prone to tense up or spasm, leading to the urgent need to urinate.

So this article certainly explains why my condition developed but hopefully I seem to have improved to the point where I won't need to take antibiotics to resolve the lower UTI. It's interesting that when I arrived in Melbourne last year in the depth of its winter I suffered from OAB initially but not a UTI. This time around the suffered from both. I guess I'm an example of a person whose bladder has been weakened from old age. The cooler weather certainly does not agree with me and I look forward to a return to the tropics.

Another term for my condition is Cold-Induced Diuresis explained as follows (source):

During cold diuresis, blood vessels constrict, and blood flow decreases to warm your internal and vital organs. This causes your blood pressure to increase, making your kidneys filter excess fluid and blood to decrease your blood volume, which causes a full bladder and makes you pee more.