The Pharmaceutical Society of Kenya (PSK) has warned the general public against indiscriminately using sexual performance enhancing drugs in the country without prescription.

The warning by PSK comes amid rising cases of men dying in the country after reportedly using the ‘blue pill’ and other sexual performance enhancing drugs for pleasure.

“The Pharmaceutical Society of Kenya PSK wishes to caution the public against the unprescribed use of sildenafil, tadalafil, vardenafil and avanafil, drugs commonly known as the ‘blue pill’ without the advice of a qualified medical practitioner and a valid prescription,” Dr Louis Machogu, PSK President said in a statement.

Machogu warned that the use of the above-mentioned drugs without prior medical evaluation and prescription makes the use prone to their harmful effects.

He warned that among the mild side effects one should look out for include headache, nose bleeding, discomfort and pain in the upper abdomen, trouble falling and/or staying asleep, skin redness, diarrhea, dizziness and skin rash.

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Severe side effects of the “blue pills,” according to the PSK warning, include mild and shot-lived decrease in blood pressure, vision loss, priapism (unwanted persistent erection) as well as cardiac arrest risk for patients with preexisting cardiovascular disease.

Blue Pills. PHOTO/COURTESY

“patients with underlying conditions and those who are on other medications maybe be more at risk of the above-mentioned side effects,” warned the PSK President.

“Whilst we acknowledge that these medicines have been used effectively to manage erectile dysfunction, we caution the public to refrain from accessing the medicines without a full evaluation, diagnosis and prescription by a qualified medical practitioner,” he urged.

Machogu urged those who have prescriptions to take the sexual performance enhancing drugs to purchase them from legally registered pharmacies.

A legally registered pharmacy is expected to display a Health Safety Code in their shop and one can verify their registration status by texting the pharmacy’s code to 21031 free of charge.