The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved treatment for nocturnal polyuria, or overproduction of urine during the night. This condition causes adults to wake up at least two times during the night to urinate, a symptom called nocturia. The treatment is a nasal spray called Noctiva.
Noctiva helps reduce the number of times that adults need to wake up to urinate, according to Hylton V. Joff, director of the Division of Bone, Reproductive and Urologic Products in the FDA’s Center for Drug Evaluation and Research.
Researchers studied 1,045 patients 50 years of age and older with nocturia caused by nocturnal polyuria in two 12-week trials. In both trials, some patients were given placebo drugs while others received Noctiva. More patients that were given Noctiva at least halved their number of urinations during the night and had more nights with one or fewer night-time urinations.
Nocturia can be caused by conditions such as congestive heart failure, medications, or diseases of the bladder or prostate. Health care providers should consider these conditions before recommending Noctiva, since Noctiva is approved only for adults that have nocturia caused by nocturnal polyuria. The medicine can have serious side effects and needs careful physician supervision.
Written by: Katherine Heighway | Medically Reviewed by Dr. Robert Carlson, M.D.