VIAGRA LINKED TO WOMEN'S MALADY

Doctors see rise in `honeymoon' cystitis

Viagra, which has revved up the sex lives of many men, may have another
down side, this one among the female partners of the men taking it.

More and more older women are suffering from frequent, urgent, burning
urination -- usually found among women half their age and sometimes called
honeymoon cystitis, say three doctors who noticed the condition among their
patients in Covington, Ga.

The condition has been especially prevalent in women 55 to 75, the doctors
said in a letter published recently in the New England Journal of Medicine.

When the doctors went to their charts, they found the common bond: ``Every
one of their husbands had been treated with Viagra,'' said Dr. Henry
Patton, one of the doctors.

The urinary condition often occurs after prolonged sexual activity and
allows bacteria from the genitals to creep into the urinary tract.

Vaginal dryness, common among some postmenopausal women, can encourage cystitis.

To stave off the condition, Patton suggests that his patients drink extra
liquids and urinate before and after sex. If that doesn't work, he added,
antibiotics will.

Checked-by: Joel W. Johnson