Study: Sex Pills Can Cause Blue Vision and Vision Loss

QUESTION: Sometimes after I take Viagra, my vision turns blueish-gray and it gets blurry. Is this an expected side effect? I can't ask my doctor because he might stop prescribing it for me.

ANSWER: Viagra, and the two other FDA approved medications for erectile dysfunction, Cialis and Levitra, are blockbuster drugs that are known to affect vision, and many men fear they will go blind by using these drugs.

But this doesn't stop men from using these drugs or buying fake versions over the Internet.

Counterfeit impotence pills are big business for drug dealers. For example, consider Viagra, affectionately dubbed the "blue diamond" pill.

In a small clinical trial, researchers found an unusually high percentage of visual disturbances. More specifically, 6 of the 7 patients in the study experienced vision loss in one or both eyes within 24 hours after using Viagra (sildenafil).

Interestingly, these patients were also dealing with hypertension, diabetes, elevated cholesterol or high cholesterol.

Regardless, the scientists concluded that "Sildenafil may provoke 'non-arteritic ischemic optic neuropathy' (NAION) in individuals with an arteriosclerotic risk profile." But it's not all bad news for the super sex pill. Recently, a study published in the September 2009 issue of The Journal of Stroke and Cerebrovascular Disease cleared the besmirched reputation of these drugs by testing them in a group of ill patients who had suffered a stroke.

The scientists looked for worsening symptoms of stroke, heart attack, vision or hearing loss, and death from any cause for two weeks.

They concluded that intake of Viagra 25 milligrams per day "appeared to be safe."

What happens after two weeks? Who knows, but if you rely on sex pills, you may have underlying diabetes or heart disease.