diff --git privatemsg.module privatemsg.module
index fbff9e5..e95b04e 100644
--- privatemsg.module
+++ privatemsg.module
@@ -785,16 +785,18 @@ function privatemsg_message_change_status($pmid, $status, $account = NULL) {
  *
  * @param $account
  *   Specifiy the user for which the unread count should be loaded.
+ * @param $reset
+ *   Reset the static $counts variable.
  *
  * @ingroup api
  */
-function privatemsg_unread_count($account = NULL) {
+function privatemsg_unread_count($account = NULL, $reset = FALSE) {
   static $counts = array();
   if (!$account || $account->uid == 0) {
     global $user;
     $account = $user;
   }
-  if (!isset($counts[$account->uid])) {
+  if ($reset || !isset($counts[$account->uid])) {
     $query = _privatemsg_assemble_query('unread_count', $account);
     $counts[$account->uid] = db_result(db_query($query['query']));
   }