Next the find out about the hairy palms

May 27, 2005 8:33 AM

Your mother was right. You can go blind from doing that. Federal health officials are examining rare reports of blindness among some men using the impotence drugs Viagra and Cialis. Since it doesn't actually do anything, Enzyte should still be safe.
posted by hipnerd (20 comments total)

Finally--a legitimate explanation for the invasion of Iraq.
posted by weapons-grade pandemonium at 8:37 AM on May 27, 2005

Blindness from Viagra use was reported almost immediately after it went on the market. What's the news here?
posted by me3dia at 8:42 AM on May 27, 2005

Generalissimo Francisco Franco is still dead.
posted by Slack-a-gogo at 8:48 AM on May 27, 2005

Wait... Enzyte doesn't do anything?! That's another $300 down the toilet :(
posted by papakwanz at 8:50 AM on May 27, 2005

Hadn't heard about the blindness issue before -- except from Sister Marheineke in the seventh grade.
posted by hipnerd at 9:05 AM on May 27, 2005

I'll just take it 'til I need glasses.
posted by Floydd at 9:05 AM on May 27, 2005

Enzyte does do something - it gives Bob a rictus grin akin to the Joker's.

Maybe that's what Jack was taking when he filmed the 1989 Batman movie?

All this time, and Crazy Jack's had the secret to instant rictus grin-induction.
posted by Floach at 9:16 AM on May 27, 2005

(To back up my "old news" claim, here's a reprint of an article from 2001.)
posted by me3dia at 9:20 AM on May 27, 2005

me3dia, I'd give that report a lot more credibility if it wasn't hosted on the site of a Scientology front group. These same people believe that you can cure homosexuality by taking lots of vitamins.

Obviously, they've never seen a gay man's medicine cabinet...
posted by hipnerd at 9:30 AM on May 27, 2005

"Can I just use it till I need glasses?"
posted by theora55 at 9:57 AM on May 27, 2005

Blindness from Viagra use was reported almost immediately after it went on the market. What's the news here?

That it takes four years for the FDA to get involved when a prescription drug can cause blindness.
posted by mabelstreet at 10:12 AM on May 27, 2005

Has anybody else noticed on the commercials that Enzyte comes with poppers now? It reminds me of the part in Go where they're selling the fake MDMA; "You know what makes it even better? If you take like a lot of pot with it. I mean like, like a lot of pot." =)
posted by idontlikewords at 10:14 AM on May 27, 2005

me3dia, I'd give that report a lot more credibility if it wasn't hosted on the site of a Scientology front group.

Alright, how about Evhead? Does an expired link to Yahoo News really convince you more than a reprinted Reuters story? Would a reference on a chiropractic website be better? Perhaps some published research would persuade you.
posted by me3dia at 10:15 AM on May 27, 2005

Any evidence of hairy palms?
posted by helvetica at 11:01 AM on May 27, 2005

Yup. Old news. And as of May 2005, only 15 reported cases worldwide.

But I'll bet this will be all over the news tonight....
posted by Floydd at 11:03 AM on May 27, 2005

Actually, according to the article,:

The FDA has 43 reports of NAION among the impotence drug users: 38 for Viagra, four for Cialis and one for Levitra, said spokeswoman Susan Cruzan.

That would be more than 15.

The news is that the FDA is taking it seriously enough to call for an investigation. There may not be causal link, but it's worth looking at.
posted by hipnerd at 12:30 PM on May 27, 2005

I'm more worried about the government buying Viagra for convicted sex offenders, to be honest.
posted by AlexReynolds at 1:51 PM on May 27, 2005

These publications include only 6 cases total, and a recent poster presentation adds only 9 more. In addition, there are no positive rechallenge reports in the literature or in spontaneous reporting databases.

The FDA has 43 reports of NAION among the impotence drug users: 38 for Viagra, four for Cialis and one for Levitra, said spokeswoman Susan Cruzan.

That would be more than 15.
posted by hipnerd

Hmm, I wonder why the discrepancy? Why would those cases reported to the FDA not appear in the literature?
posted by Floydd at 2:11 PM on May 27, 2005

I read some news about a report a long while ago that said orgasms can affect your sight. After an alarming headline and other 'experts' chiming in the article went on to illustrate that the report also said other body-stressing acts can affect your vision, such as sneezing.
posted by Smedleyman at 2:51 PM on May 27, 2005

Honestly, I wasn't trying to spread the idea of a pandemic. I just though the concept that Viagra might cause blindness had a certain level of black humor.

My impression is that it's not causal, just a correlation. And the percentage of affected users is extremely low.
posted by hipnerd at 10:42 PM on May 27, 2005