Excessive thirst or trishna, as it is called in Ayurveda, is quite different from normal thirst. Thirst is a desire for drink or indicative of dryness of throat and a demand for water into the system. When this desire or demand for water is abnormal, i.e., more than usual, it is a diseased condition.
We may feel thirsty due to exertion on a hot summer day, where there has been increased fluid loss through sweating. When we have eaten oily and salty food, we can also expect to feel thirsty which is an indication of the need for dilution of these food substances in the digestive tract and the blood. If you have suffered from acute gastroenteritis with vomiting and diarrhea, you can lose quite large volumes of fluid and consequently may drink increased amounts of fluid.
Some people drink water because they enjoy drinking for the sake of it. For most people, it is a common practice to drink plenty of water to dilute the germs within the bladder, to help them lose weight or because they have kidney stones and are attempting to keep the urine as dilute as possible. These are all normal and predictable reasons for feeling thirsty.
With excessive thirst, however, there is no apparent cause for the thirst, and no intentional attempt to drink excessively by the individual.
However, in diabetes insipidus, there is a deficiency of an antidiuretic hormone called vasopressin, (which controls the amount of fluid excreted by the kidney) resulting in the passing of copious amounts of urine, which in turn, causes excessive thirst.
On the other hand, in diabetes mellitus, which is caused by a relative or complete lack of insulin (the hormone that governs the level of blood sugar in the circulation), patients may experience excessive thirst.
Too little insulin means that blood sugar level has raised dramatically. All this sugar in the blood stream draws fluid out of the cells in the body and makes the sufferer feel thirsty. At the same time, the kidney is unable to restrict water alone so that large amount of sugary urine is passed.
According to Ayurveda, the vaata, excited by fear, excessive physical work, loss of strength, and nervous excitements, while the pitta excited by pungent and foul food, by anger, fasts, and other causes produce thirst. The water-bearing products, vitiated by the excited vaata, may also cause thirst.
Self-help Guidelines & Ayurvedic Remedies
The main treatment for excessive thirst is to remove the cause, as thirst is found as a symptom in many diseases. However, there are some general modalities to quench the thirst:
• One to two glasses of freshly milked milk has to be taken without boiling, according to appetite.
• Take half a cup of decoction prepared with equal parts of coriander seeds, amla fruits, dried ginger and dried grapes and pitapaapara, three times a day.
• Two to four grams of powdered fruit rind of aamla has to be taken with five to ten grams honey three times a day.
• Five to ten milliliters of fresh leaf juice of mango, jamun or fig, is to be taken with five to ten grams of raw sugar, three times a day.
• Decoction of turmeric can be taken with sugar and honey.
• The syrup of ripe tamarind makes a very satisfying drink for quenching thirst.
• Coconut water with little sugar and sandalwood powder is a very good drink for insatiable thirst.
• The following preparations are very efficacious to relieve thirst: Jambeera, Paanakam, Gudoochi satva, Aamlakee rasaayana, Pravaala pishti, etc. These can be taken on advice of an Ayurvedic physician.