After Viagra overdose, man is seeing everything red

The bizarre story of a man who missed a dose of erectile dysfunction medicine has something important to teach us and something curious to explain to us about medications in general: First, we need to take no more than recommended, and second, some effects. Side effects are really very bizarre.

The case in point is a 31-year-old man who took a generic Viagra medicine, Sildenafil. Basically, the young man said he had taken any amount straight from the liquid's packaging, and after some time he had some very unpleasant side effects.

This type of medicine is known to cause vision problems such as light sensitivity, blurred vision and change in color pattern, and these symptoms are usually temporary and do not last longer than a day.

The man whose case we are talking about here, however, was not so lucky. Soon after taking the unknown amount of the medicine, he began to see colored flashes of light and his eyes became very sensitive to illumination. He then began to see everything with a red tinge, and although he sought medical help and the other symptoms passed, he has continued to see everything within the red spectrum for over a year.

Jeez!

“People live by the philosophy that if a little is good, a lot is better. This study shows how dangerous a high dose of a commonly used drug can be, ”said Richard Rosen of Retina Services in a statement published in Gizmodo.

Sildenafil has been studied at other times and there is evidence that overuse of Sildenafil can cause eye damage, but Rosen said it is the first time a case of permanent change in color spectrum has been reported.

Examinations of the patient revealed that cells in his retina, which act to identify colors, were actually damaged by the use of the drug, and that the pattern of change is similar to what people with color blindness experience.

It could have been worse

“Really seeing these kinds of structural changes was unexpected, but that explains the symptoms the patient has experienced. While we know that color vision disorders are a well-described side effect of this medicine, we had never been able to visualize the structural effect of the drug on the retina until now. Our findings should help doctors become more aware of potential cell changes in patients who may have overused the drug so they can better educate their patients about the risks of overuse, ”said Rosen.

Another aggravating factor in the case is the fact that the drug was purchased online, so Rosen's team cannot rule out the possibility that it was contaminated by another element.

Although the case of the patient mentioned seems to be a very unlucky epic, it is worth noting that these are not the worst side effects of overdosing on the drug, which can cause heart attacks, frequent and painful erections and even grangrene and penile amputation, in particular. more severe cases. When in doubt, friends, less is more.

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