Men who take viagra, erectile disfunction drugs could be twice as likely to go blind, study finds – PennLive

For men who take viagra, a new study emerged this week that they will likely want to take a look at. (Images/TNS)TNS
It almost sounds like a joke you might have heard back in high school, but a study this week that says using Viagra can make a person go blind is no joke at all.
In fact, the study of 200,000 men conducted by the University of British Columbia, reportedly found that using erectile disfunction drugs such as Viagra, Cialis, Levitra and Stendra can more than “double” risks of conditions that can lead to blindness, according to multiple reports.
The study reportedly found that guys using the meds had a 2.5 times greater risk of “serious retinal detachment, and twice the chance of ischemic optic neuropathy, which could compromise blood supply to the optic nerve.” It also found that the rest of “retinal vascular occlusion,” a blood clot in the retina, rose around 44 percent.
So, if you keep it up, you really might go blind.
Seriously though, if there’s any good news in this report, it’s that actually losing one’s site is still “extremely rare,” despite the elevated risks of conditions that could lead to that end result.
As for the why of it all, speculation is that while the medications improve blood flow in key parts of the body, they can also “hinder blood flow” in other parts of the body, such as the eyes.
“Regular users of these drugs who find any change in their vision should take it seriously and seek medical attention,” UBC association professor Dr. Mahyar Etminan told The Telegraph.
Per Gizmodo, the authors of the study have suggested that the findings could highlight a need for “added warning labels” for the medications. The report said that, at least since 2005, it has been known that the drugs can have effects on the eyes, and that back then a warning label about the drugs’ association with ischemic optic neuropathy, which can cause permanent vision loss, was added to packaging.
While the odds of actually losing one’s eye sight are still considered to be relatively small, the fact that, per Gizmodo, 20-to-30 million men in the United States take the drugs, could mean the risks are great enough to add the additional warnings.
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