Honeymoon Cystitis

Honeymoon cystitis is an acute bacterial inflammation of the urinary system form excess and long-lasting sex.

Despite its romantic name, there’s nothing romantic about the disease. The name was probably applied due to the fact that honeymoon cystitis or urinary tract infection often occurs in the time of honeymoon, which was expected to be the time of the first intercourse. It usually occurs because of deep thrusting of the penis that irritates the bladder. Harmful organisms are rubbed into the bladder with hard pushes of the penis, causing an infection. Your partner isn’t necessarily the carrier of the organisms, but he simply pushes those that are already in your body with his penis up to your bladder. Honeymoon cystitis often develops in women who don’t have children.

Preventive action

Prevention is better than treatment. One preventive approach is drinking cranberry juice because it makes urine sourer and therefore more dangerous for any sort of foreign bodies. A sufficient quantity of fluid in your body results in frequent visits to the toilet, with which you cleanse the urinary tract. Avoid drinking coffee and tea. Prevention particularly applies to recurrent cases of honeymoon cystitis.

Risk factors

Among the risk factors for the development of honeymoon cystitis, there are various forms of contraception, for example diaphragm and spermicides that are also found on condoms, frequent sex and poor lubrication. Intercourse with different partners is dangerous as well. Honeymoon cystitis also occurs during pregnancy, particularly in the first months when the urethra relaxes under the influence of the hormone progesterone and infections spread faster. The pressure of a growing uterus on the bladder can cause the congestion of a small quantity of urine in the bladder, which becomes the breeding ground for bacteria and leads to the development of cystitis.

Symptoms of honeymoon cystitis

The symptoms of honeymoon cystitis appear within a day or two after the bacteria entered the body. These are a burning sensation when passing urine, frequent urination, blood in urine, high temperature, shivering, and pain in the area above the pubic bone and in the lower abdomen that can move to the lower back.

Causes of honeymoon cystitis

The condition is commonly caused by the bacteria E. Coli. Honeymoon cystitis is often brought on by the insertion of an unclean finger or penis that was previously in the anus into the vagina, sexually transmitted diseases such as herpes, or antiseptic agents found in soaps ... It also occurs in certain types of cancer treatment and chemotherapy. Honeymoon cystitis can also be triggered by diabetes. Namely, a large amount of glucose in urine contributes to the spread of bacteria.

Treatment of honeymoon cystitis

If your gynaecologist diagnoses you with honeymoon cystitis, he/she’ll prescribe you a therapy with antibiotics and pain-killers. He/she’ll tell you that you should abstain from sex until honeymoon cystitis is treated. As we've already mentioned, drinking large amounts of water will also help you cure the infection. Soaking in a hot bath without foam offers additional relaxation to the painful areas.

It’s advisable to get used to passing urine after sexual intercourse. This is hard for some women because they have difficulties in relaxing muscles after sex. Women in menopause can have difficulties in urinating because they lack the hormone oestrogen. Make changes to your style of lovemaking and use lubricants. If your problems continue, see your gynaecologist.