- The unidentified 40-year-old man only sought help five days after suffering the rash.
- He initially denied taking any medication before admitting to using tadalafil.
A Brazilian man suffered a never-before-seen reaction to an erection medication sold on Britain’s high streets.
The 40-year-old man developed pustules (small bumps on the skin containing fluid or pus) covering his chest, face and thighs after taking tadalafil, sold as Cialis in the UK.
Doctors say doctors should be aware of the “possible adverse reaction, considering the increasing use of tadalafil.”
The unidentified man, who now lives in Portugal, denied taking any medication when he originally visited his doctor complaining about the rash.
Five days later, when his condition worsened, he confessed to having taken tadalafil.
The 40-year-old man developed pustules (small bumps on the skin containing fluid or pus) covering his chest, face and thighs after taking tadalafil, sold as Cialis in the UK. In the photo, pustules on the thigh.
Doctors say doctors should be aware of the “possible adverse reaction, considering the increasing use of tadalafil.” The unidentified man, who now lives in Portugal, denied having taken any medication when he originally visited his doctor complaining about the rash. In the photo, pustules on the chest.
Under UK regulations, Cialis can be sold without a prescription, but only in pharmacies for as little as £22, so men are asked about their health before being sold the pills. This also means that men cannot buy these medications at convenience stores, supermarkets, or gas stations, as is the case with aspirin and other medications.
He told doctors that his symptoms began a few days after taking the medication to treat his erectile dysfunction.
The man stopped taking tadalafil and the steroids eventually helped clear his skin.
The drug’s makers claim that Cialis, which sells for just £5 a pill, is superior to Viagra, made with sildenafil, because it works faster, in just 30 minutes.
Its effects can also last up to 36 hours, six times longer than the little blue pill.
Under UK regulations, Cialis can be sold without a prescription, but only in pharmacies, so men are asked about their health before being handed the pills.
This means that men cannot buy these medications at convenience stores, supermarkets, or gas stations, as is the case with aspirin and other medications.
Sales are limited to a box of 10 mg pills, known as a “standard dose.”
The team that treated the man at Lisbon’s Santa María Hospital did not reveal his dose.
After taking a skin biopsy, in which a small sample of skin is removed for examination under a microscope, doctors diagnosed him Acute generalized exanthematous pustulosis (AGEP).
AGEP usually starts on the face or in the armpits and groin before spreading.
Research suggests that more than nine in 10 cases are caused by medications, often antibiotics such as penicillin.
writing in the diary Urology Case ReportsDoctors said it was vital that health professionals recognize AGEP as a possible side effect of tadalafil, “especially given the growing demand for erectile dysfunction medications.”
More research is also needed to understand why the drug triggers AGEP, they added.
According to the NHS, drugs such as Viagra and Cialis are used to control erectile dysfunction in at least two-thirds of cases.
Erectile dysfunction is most common in people over 40 years of age, but it affects men of all ages.
It affects around 4.3 million men in the UK and 30 million in the United States.
But experts say up to 70 percent of men feel too embarrassed to seek advice about the problem, preventing them from seeking help.
More seriously, many men turn to the Internet to purchase supplies of the drug, often purchasing illegal or counterfeit versions abroad, putting them at risk of consuming dangerous counterfeits.