Going to the toilet more than ten times a day during could be a sign of serious underlying health problems, including urinary tract infections, diabetes or even bladder cancer, a leading urologist has warned. 

While going more frequently may seem harmless—especially given the "two litres of water a day" advice that the majority of adults try to adhere to—experts have warned that in midlife, you shouldn't be going more than nine times a day—or less than six. 

NHS guidelines recommend drinking six to eight glasses, or 1.2litres of fluid a day. 

This includes water, lower-fat milk and sugar free drinks including tea and coffee. 

But according to Mr Hamid Abboudi, a urological surgeon who specialises in recurrent UTIs and bladder cancer at New Victoria Hospital, caffeine—which has a diuretic effect—can cause the bladder to become overactive, causing problems in later life.

'Across a patient's lifespan there are likely to be several changes to toilet habits,' Mr Abboudi told Metro. 

And whilst it's completely normal for most adults under 60 to go five to eight times during the day and once at night, depending on circumstances, going more than this could be a sign of something more serious. 

Over half of women will experience a UTI at some point during their lifetime, with symptoms including abdominal pain, an overwhelming urge to urinate more often, and a burning sensation when they do. 

Mr Abboudi said increased urinary frequency is a tell-tale sign of UTIs, which can become chronic if left untreated, increasing the risk of kidney failure, sepsis and even bladder cancer. 

He added that whilst an increase in urinary frequency in teenage years, as a result of hormonal imbalances triggered by puberty, is usually 'nothing to worry about', if frequent urination continues into adulthood, UTIs, diabetes and, in rare cases, bladder cancer could be to blame. 

Bladder cancer is cancer that's found anywhere in the bladder—the organ that collects and stores urine. 

The main symptom of the disease is blood in the urine, but other common symptoms include pain or burning when urinating, needing to go more often with more urgency, loss of appetite, abdominal pain and general malaise.

Bladder cancer most commonly affects people over the age of 60, when bladder problems like urinary incontinence are more common. 

As we age, our bladder muscles deteriorate and become weaker, increasing the risk or urge incontinence, triggering more urgent trips to the toilet. 

This happens when the bladder muscles start to contract before you can get to the toilet. 

As well as ageing, there are several causes including UTIs, disease of the nervous system such as Parkinson's Disease, or not drinking enough fluids. 

According to the NHS, nocturia—the need to get up at night regularly to urinate—becomes more common as we afwe, as a result of reduced antidiuretics hormone (ADH), which helps regulate the amount of water in the body.

The body naturally produces less of this hormone as we age, with lower levels meaning that more urine is processed at night. 

Mr abboudi added: 'For men, as they get older the prostate gland increases in size. This puts a pressure effect on the bladder and can increase the number of times a man urinates.' 

He continued that older patients are also more likely to be on a form of medication called diuretics for various medical conditions, which can lead to more frequent toilet trips through the day and night.   

Along with some antidepressants, hormone replacement therapy and sedatives, these drugs can disrupt the normal process of storing and passing urine, or increase the amount of urine produces.

As such, for adults over the age of 60, Mr Abboudi says going up to 10 times a day is not a cause for concern.