A man in his 70s got more than he bargained for after taking a dose of impotence medication and coughing up blood for three days.
Doctors documenting the case said only six other incidents of this type of reaction have been reported in patients taking sildenafil, better known by the brand name Viagra.
The man, whose name has not been mentioned in the medical records, began coughing up blood shortly after taking sildenafil, a drug used by millions of British men.
Over the next three days, the report said, he vomited an estimated 50 ml of blood, which is slightly more than the contents of a shot glass.
He sought help from doctors and told them that he had had a similar attack two weeks earlier, after taking the blue pill again.
Doctors documenting the case said there have been only six other reported incidents of this type of reaction in patients taking sildenafil, better known by the brand name Viagra.
Doctors examined the man thoroughly, including examining his throat and nasal passages and performing a CT scan of his chest. They found no underlying condition that could have caused the bleeding.
This, and the fact that the man’s symptoms disappeared after he stopped taking sildenafil, led to the conclusion that the impotence drug was likely the culprit.
‘The precise timing of the episodes, which coincided with the intake and discontinuation of sildenafil, combined with the absence of abnormal laboratory findings or treatment changes, suggests a possible association between sildenafil intake and the episodes,’ they wrote.
‘It is notable that no further episodes have occurred since stopping sildenafil.’
Reportedly, after a year the patient no longer suffered from hemoptysis, the medical term for coughing up blood.
Physicians who have described the patient’s experiences in detail in the British medical journalsaid that only six other cases of sildenafil-related hemoptysis have been recorded in the medical literature.
Since the drug is used by millions of patients worldwide each year, it is an extremely rare and poorly understood reaction.
The case authors noted that there were factors in their patient’s medical history that could explain why the rare reaction occurred.
He suffered from kidney problems and was also taking another medication, rivaroxaban, an anticoagulant that thins the blood.
These factors, when combined with sildenafil, which temporarily increases blood flow to the penis, could cause bleeding, they said, but added that this was only a theory.
‘Impaired renal function may affect the metabolism of sildenafil and rivaroxaban, which may explain the hemoptysis due to their enhanced vasodilation (widening of blood vessels) and anticoagulation effects, respectively,’ the researchers said.
They concluded that their case study demonstrated the need to monitor patients taking sildenafil while they have serious health conditions and are also taking other medications.
The authors add: ‘Further research is needed to clarify the precise mechanism causing sildenafil-induced haemoptysis.’
Where exactly the patient was treated was not mentioned in the case report.
In total, 4.57 million prescriptions were written by the health care system in 2023 for sildenafil, better known by the brand name Viagra, and other types of impotence drugs sold under the brand names Cialis and Levitra.
Data suggests that millions of British men are now using this libido-enhancing drug.
In 2023 alone, a total of 3 million prescriptions for sildenafil for erectile dysfunction were written by the NHS.
This doesn’t address the fact that many other Brits buy it without a prescription from physical or online pharmacies, with some options costing just a few pence per pill.
Separate data released earlier this year showed that sildenafil use varies by country.
The data shows that men in Yorkshire are most likely to need help in the bedroom, with 3.5 per cent of men in the East Riding being prescribed sildenafil last year.
Men in Northumberland and Dorset ranked second and third in terms of prescribing the erectile dysfunction drug, at around 3.2 percent each.
The Yorkshire region seems to be particularly hard hit by impotence, with the towns of Rotherham, Barnsley, Harrogate, Scarborough and Whitby among the top 10 areas where Viagra is prescribed.
At the other end of the spectrum, men in Leicester City were found to be the least likely to need help from the little blue pill to maintain an erection, with a prescription rate of just 1.6 per cent.
Although the vast majority of people who use sildenafil do not experience any problems, an estimated one in every 100 patients experiences common side effects from the drug.
According to the NHS, these include headaches, nausea, hot flushes, indigestion, nasal congestion and dizziness.
It is estimated that more serious side effects requiring urgent medical attention affect fewer than one in a thousand people.
This map shows the areas where people were most and least likely to be prescribed sildenafil, the main ingredient in the erectile dysfunction drug Viagra, through the NHS
Your browser does not support iframes.
Examples of these include seizures, a prolonged and possibly painful erection, especially if it lasts for more than two hours, chest pain and in very rare cases a life-threatening allergic reaction to the drug called anaphylaxis.
Earlier this year, MailOnline revealed that popular erection pills such as Viagra have been linked to more than 200 deaths in the UK.
There is no evidence that any of the deaths, all of which have occurred since 1998, were directly caused by the drugs.
Erectile dysfunction, also known as impotence, is said to occur in approximately half of men over the age of 40.
Although erectile dysfunction is usually an isolated condition and not a cause for concern, repeated or persistent impotence should be evaluated by a doctor.
Erectile dysfunction, also known as impotence, is said to occur in approximately half of men over the age of 40.
Although erectile dysfunction is usually an isolated condition and not a cause for concern, repeated or persistent impotence should be evaluated by a doctor.
It can be an indication of serious health problems, such as high blood pressure or high cholesterol, diabetes, hormone problems, and mental health problems such as depression and anxiety.
However, not all men are advised to use drugs like sildenafil. For example, people with heart problems are advised against using it.