# Keep taking it and you'll go blind!

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/keep-taking-it-and-youll-go-blind/305908>\
**Category:** In My Humble Opinion\
**Created:** [May 28, 2005, 7:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/keep-taking-it-and-youll-go-blind/305908 "2005-05-28T19:30:25Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 5\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![want2know](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/50afbb/32.png) [@want2know](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/want2know)\
**Post date:** [May 28, 2005, 7:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/keep-taking-it-and-youll-go-blind/305908/1 "2005-05-28T19:30:25Z")

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On the prescription drug front: Yesterday, the news reported a possible link between certain erectile dysfunction medications and incidents of BLINDNESS!I’d be curious to know how many men who reported this interesting side effect had neither a wife nor a significant other! 😛

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**Author:** ![Dr.Kenneth\_Noisewater](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ebca7d/32.png) [@Dr.Kenneth\_Noisewater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Kenneth_Noisewater)\
**Post date:** [May 28, 2005, 7:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/keep-taking-it-and-youll-go-blind/305908/2 "2005-05-28T19:32:28Z")

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I thought the ocular side effects were well known. Is this not old news?

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**Author:** ![Ferret\_Herder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e47774/32.png) [@Ferret\_Herder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ferret_Herder)\
**Post date:** [May 28, 2005, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/keep-taking-it-and-youll-go-blind/305908/3 "2005-05-28T20:26:13Z")

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Different ocular side effects. The ones warned about on the package are retinal changes; the latest reported (42 cases out of how many million doses taken?) are optic neuropathy. However, the ocular defect that precedes this can easily be diagnosed, and both diabetes and high blood pressure - possible causes of impotence - are also known causes of the same ocular problem. So, it’s a confusing situation and they haven’t totally established causality yet.

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**Author:** ![Tuckerfan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/eada6e/32.png) [@Tuckerfan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tuckerfan)\
**Post date:** [May 28, 2005, 9:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/keep-taking-it-and-youll-go-blind/305908/4 "2005-05-28T21:13:48Z")

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Hmm, go blind or give up nookie. Go blind or give up nookie. Man, that’s a hard choice.

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**Author:** ![ParentalAdvisory](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/53a042/32.png) [@ParentalAdvisory](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ParentalAdvisory)\
**Post date:** [May 29, 2005, 1:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/keep-taking-it-and-youll-go-blind/305908/5 "2005-05-29T01:25:43Z")

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Why does every time something fun comes along that involves erections, the result is always blindness? Why do people hate erections?