Can Viagra Cause the Blindness Side Effect?

Viagra, as the most popular erectile dysfunction, has witnessed a sea change in the area of internet availability. Though meant as a prescription drug, the internet revolution means that the drug is now available to anyone who wants to buy Viagra cheap online. However, this practice is strongly advised against because it has increased massively the number of people who buy Viagra online without prescription, which in itself is dangerous. As the popularity of the drug continues to soar, and more people jump on the Viagra bandwagon, more reports are emanating that the drug can cause damages of more permanent proportions. Not too long ago in Washington, the Food and Drug Administration disclosed that it was having discussions with the manufacturers of the three well-known oral erectile dysfunction treatments – Viagra, Cialis, and Levitra. This is in connection with the duty of the manufacturers to educate the public on the rare cases of varying degrees of loss of vision – including blindness – that could be engendered by their products. This education is to be conveyed via the messages in their labels, and there was a report that the FDA was probing incidents of blindness among dozens of men who had used Viagra, while seizing the opportunity to caution that there could be a connection between the illnesses that could lead to impotence and loss of sight. In what could be considered as an obvious progress in the discussion, the manufacturer of Cialis has added a one-line caveat to its label.

The issue on the front burner is the sudden loss of vision when there is a block in the supply of blood to the optic nerve, which could result in a condition known as non-arteritic anterior ischemic optic neuropathy, commonly NAION. According to the spokeswoman for FDA, the regulatory body has 43 reported cases of NIAON among the erectile dysfunction treatment users, of which 38 cases are for Viagra, one for Levitra and 4 for Cialis. The Viagra number is rare, going by the over twenty million users of Viagra, if the words of Pfizer, Viagra maker, are to be considered. Complicating this issue further is the fact that NAION is seen as a leading cause of loss of vision in the older population, with statistics suggesting that cases are between 6,000 and 1,000.

Nevertheless, Cruzan was of the opinion that the reported incidents of vision loss from the use of these drugs are to be taken seriously. This opinion is coming on the backdrop of the criticism levelled in the way of federal regulators and the drug industry regarding their actions in the assurance of safety of drugs already in the market. There has been mounting pressure on the FDA to investigate the reported side effects because Merck and CO. has had to pull its pain reliever drug, Vioxx, out of the market since it was discovered that the drug had the capacity to trigger fatal heart conditions.

A lot of money is involved here. The manufacturer of Viagra, in its recent quarterly filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, said that the sale of Viagra rose 5 percent to 438 million dollars, in the first quarter of the year. The blindness cases, however, brought a downturn in business for Pfizer, with its share losing 55 cents on the New York Stock Exchange.

Original Viagra tablets, best-selling pills that brought about a revolution in the treatment of ED, are however not sold without serious warnings. Coming with the pack is the express warning that the drug is not to be used by men who are on any form of nitrate prescriptions, and men who already have heart problems and whose doctors had warned that sex could be physically exerting for them.