Cold medicines affect the prostate, too

Q. Do cold medications cause prostate problems?

A. No. But pseudoephedrine, which is ubiquitous in

decongestant cold remedies, may bring undetected

prostate problems to light. Usually these problems -

chiefly trouble with urination because of an enlarged

prostate - go away when the medication is stopped.

Virtually all men develop an enlarged prostate as they

age, which makes them have to urinate more frequently.

Pseudoephedrine acts on molecules in muscles and blood

vessels: In the nose, it constricts tiny blood vessels

and dries up nasal secretions; in the prostate, it

causes contraction of muscles, causing the prostate to

squeeze more tightly around the urethra.

This squeezing causes urinary retention, which means

that a man may be able to pass only a few ounces of

urine at a time, said Michael O'Leary, a urologist and

senior surgeon at Brigham and Women's Hospital in

Boston.

Decongestants with pseudoephedrine carry warnings on

the label telling men who have trouble urinating

because of enlarged prostate glands to check with

their doctors before using the medication. But many

men with enlarged prostates don't know they have that

problem, said Stephen Smith, a physician at the Fallon

Clinic in Holden, Mass.

Judy Foreman, Brandeis University

Tribune Media Services