A man suddenly went blind in one eye after taking Viagra and doctors believe the erectile dysfunction cure could be the cause.
The 32-year-old Iranian took an exceptional dose of sildenafil, the main ingredient in the little blue pill.
He lost the sight in his right eye almost immediately afterwards.
Despite efforts to restore his vision, the damage was too great and he has now lost all vision in that eye.
Doctors in Tehran, who shared the unidentified man’s case in a newspaper, said it was one of the strongest pieces of evidence that taking the drug could harm the eyes.
This scan shows the damage caused by blocked blood vessels in the 32-year-old man’s right eye.
Sildenafil combats impotence by increasing blood flow to the penis by relaxing the blood vessels.
However, it is thought that this effect could, in certain circumstances, inadvertently damage other sensitive vessels in the body, such as those in the eyes.
In the most recent case, the man experienced sudden loss of vision three hours after taking 100 mg of sildenafil.
This is the maximum dose of the drug and double that recommended for most men who take it for erectile dysfunction.
After losing his sight, the man went to the hospital and informed doctors that he was taking sildenafil.
Tests revealed the man, who had no other medical problems, suffered from clots in the artery and vein that transferred blood to and from his right eye.
This led to swelling of his retina, the light-sensitive tissue at the back of the organ.
He also suffered from macular edema, a condition where blood leaks into the retina.
Doctors at Farabi Eye Hospital said the pressure from this fluid buildup eventually led to the retina physically detaching from the rest of his eye.
Due to concerns about blood clot risks from Covid vaccines and the virus itself at the time, doctors asked him about any recent infections or vaccinations.
However, he had neither been infected nor vaccinated recently.
The investigation also revealed that his left eye was not damaged.
Doctors also noted that he had no family history of blood clot problems that could explain the sudden damage to his eye and tests to detect any undiagnosed conditions came back negative.
Doctors said that although eye and vision problems had been reported following taking sildenafil, the link between the two was “controversial”.
Iranian doctors have speculated that the sudden loss of vision in the man’s right eye could be the result of taking drugs for anerectile dysfunction (stock image)
“Several serious retinal strokes have been reported following the use of sildenafil.But the exact role of this drug is unclear,” they wrote.
They added that their patient was prominent in the medical literature discussing the link due to both the severity of the case and the fact that he had no other health problems that could explain the sudden eye problem.
“Since the patient was otherwise healthy with no known risk factors for vascular disease…and in addition to the close temporal relationship between sildenafil consumption and disease incidence, we hypothesized that the drug may play a causal role in this clinical scenario,” they wrote.
However, they acknowledged that the exact mechanism by which sildenafil can damage blood vessels in the eye is unknown.
One theory is that the drug’s intended effect, which is to increase blood flow to the penis, could inadvertently risk damaging sensitive blood vessels in the eye by the same mechanism.
However, the authors added that exactly how the drug interacts with the eye’s vessels is likely a “complex.”
They called for further investigation into this potential link, particularly for younger men.
Share the story in the Journal of Medical Case Reportsdoctors did not reveal exactly when the incident occurred.
Earlier this year, Indian doctors reported the case of a 41-year-old man who died after suffering a stroke while taking a combination of impotence pills and alcohol.
Sildenafil is an over-the-counter medicine in the UK, meaning it can be purchased without a prescription.
A sudden decrease or loss of vision is listed as a rare potential side effect of sildenafil in the leaflets distributed with the drug.
The NHS says that serious side effects from taking sildenafil only occur in one in 1,000 people who take the drug.
However, he adds that anyone taking the medicine and experiencing this side effect should stop taking it immediately and call their doctor or the NHS 111 number.
Although the “little blue pill” is best known as an erectile dysfunction drug, it also gives patients suffering from pulmonary hypertension a condition in which the blood pressure in the blood vessels supplying the lungs is dangerously high.
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