The Real Reason You're Craving Water
Being thirsty is completely normal. Thirst is simply your body's way of telling you that it's time for a glass of water. After all, humans need water to survive. "In normal circumstances, you should be able to quench your thirst fairly quickly," Healthline explained. However, when you are excessively thirsty and are not finding relief even after drinking glass after glass of water, that may be a sign that something is wrong.
Symptoms of excessive thirst include always feeling the need to drink water, even when you aren't exercising, as well as blurred vision and feeling tired, according to Medline Plus. There are a number of reasons why you may be craving water, including having experienced a burn or other injury or even just eating too many spicy or salty foods. However, one reason for excessive thirst stands out from the rest, as you may not be able to pinpoint its cause right away.
High blood sugar can make you very thirsty
As the name suggests, having high blood sugar means that a large amount of sugar is in your blood. Many things can affect your blood sugar, although the condition is normally found in patients with diabetes. One symptom of having high blood sugar is craving water. In fact, early signs of complications from high blood sugar also include blurry vision and feeling extremely tired, according to WebMD. Sound familiar?
If you're concerned your blood sugar may be high, you can purchase a blood glucose meter at your local pharmacy. According to the American Diabetes Association, a normal result is less than 100 mg/dl; anything higher is cause for concern.
Taking your higher-than-normal results to your doctor to confirm or rule out diabetes is a wise idea. Dr. Alyson Myers of Northwell Health in New York told Live Science that getting tested for diabetes is fairly simple. "To diagnose diabetes, we do an oral glucose-tolerance test with fasting," she said.