32-year-old man goes blind in one eye after using Viagra

A man was suddenly blind in one eye after taking Viagra, and doctors think the erectile dysfunction drug may be to blame.

The 32-year-old Iranian took a heavy dose of sildenafil, the main ingredient in the little blue pill.

He lost sight in his right eye almost immediately afterwards.

Despite efforts to restore his vision, the damage was too extensive and he has now lost all vision in that eye.

Doctors in Tehran, who shared the unidentified man’s case in a diary, said it was some of the strongest evidence that taking the drug could harm the eyes.

Sildenafil combats impotence by increasing blood flow to the penis by relaxing blood vessels.

However, it is thought that this effect may, in some circumstances, inadvertently damage other sensitive vessels in the body, such as those in the eyes.

In the most recent case, the man suffered sudden vision loss three hours after taking 100 mg of sildenafil.

This is the maximum dose of the medication and double that recommended for most men taking it for erectile dysfunction.

After losing vision in his eye, the man went to the hospital and informed doctors that he had taken sildenafil.

Tests found that the man, who had no other medical complaints, had clots in the artery and vein that transferred blood to and from his right eye.

This resulted in swelling of the 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 caused the retina to physically separate from the rest of the eye.

Due to concerns about the risks of blood clots from Covid vaccines and the virus itself at the time, doctors questioned him about any recent infections or vaccines.

However, he had not been recently infected or vaccinated.

Investigations also found that his left eye was undamaged.

Doctors also noted that he had no family history of blood clot problems that could explain the sudden damage to his eye, and tests for any undiagnosed conditions came back negative.

Doctors said that although eye and vision problems have been reported due to sildenafil use, the link between the two is “controversial”.

‘Several serious retinal strokes have been reported following the use of sildenafil bbut the exact role of this medication is unclear,” they wrote.

They added that their patient was prominent in the medical literature when discussing the link, both due to the severity of the case and the fact that he had no other health conditions that could explain the sudden eye problem.

‘As the patient was healthy, with no known risk factors for vascular disease…and in addition to the close temporal relationship between sildenafil intake and disease incidence, we speculate that the drug could 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 of increasing blood flow to the penis may inadvertently risk damaging the eye’s sensitive blood vessels through the same mechanism.

However, the authors added that exactly how the drug interacts with ocular vessels is likely a “complex.”

They called for further investigation into the potential link, especially for younger men.

Sharing the story in the Journal of Medical Case Reportsdoctors have not revealed exactly when the incident occurred.

Earlier this year, Indian doctors reported a case in which a 41-year-old man 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 medicine.

The NHS states that serious side effects from using sildenafil only occur in one in every 1,000 people who take the drug.

However, it 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 most famous as an erectile dysfunction medication, it is also given to patients suffering from pulmonary hypertension, a condition in which the blood pressure in the blood vessels supplying the lungs is dangerously high.