Health Highlights: Oct. 15, 2015

• Tweet
• Pin It

Here are some of the latest health and medical news developments, compiled by the editors of HealthDay:

FDA Warned of Sexual Enhancer Products Tied to Lamar Odom’s Collapse

Former basketball star Lamar Odom was taking “lots of” so-called “herbal Viagra,” before he collapsed at a Nevada brothel, according to the owner of the establishment.

While that has not been confirmed, “natural” sexual enhancement products that actually contain prescription drugs have been targeted by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for years, NBC News reported.

Many of the products contain sildenafil, the active ingredient in Viagra, or a similar drug called sulfoaildenafil.

“This undeclared ingredient may interact with nitrates, which are found in some prescription drugs, such as nitroglycerin. This interaction may lower blood pressure to dangerous levels. Men with diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, or heart disease often take prescription drugs that contain nitrates,” according to the FDA.

However, many men don’t know of the risk because the products are labeled as natural or don’t list the drug ingredients on the label, NBC News reported.

Sales of “natural sexual enhancers” are estimated at $400 million or more.

—–

U.K. Ebola Survivor Critically Ill

The condition of a U.K. nurse hospitalized for complications of Ebola has worsened and she is now critically ill, London’s Royal Free Hospital said in a statement Wednesday.

Pauline Cafferkey was treated for Ebola infection after she returned from Sierra Leone last year. She recovered but suffered a relapse last week, the Associated Press reported.

There is growing evidence that Ebola survivors can suffer physical and mental health problems for years after they recover from the initial infection, experts say.

Thousands of Ebola survivors in West Africa are afflicted with health problems, the AP reported.

Copyright © 2024 HealthDay. All rights reserved.

• Tweet
• Pin It