Consumer alert: Urat Madu
Health Canada advises consumers not to use this product due to concerns about possible side effects.
Urat Madu is a red capsule sold to treat erectile dysfunction (impotence).
Urat Madu capsules are adulterated with the prescription drug sildenafil (Viagra), which is only to be used with a doctor’s prescription for the treatment of erectile dysfunction.
The main problem is that consumers may not know that Urat Madu can interact with medications and dangerously lower their blood pressure.
In addition, The Straits Times reports that one man who took this drug, “ended up not being able to see properly. His eyesight got so bad that he had to see a doctor.”
Dr. Marlon Tibung treats patients with erectile dysfunction at the National University Hospital in Singapore. He warned “The worst that could happen is you could die? The problem is we don’t know what else is in the pill. There could be ingredients that interact to cause greater side-effects.”
In the case of Urat Madu, the active ingredient was not listed, so patients taking medicines that contain nitrates (eg, nitroglycerin), commonly found in heart drugs, had no warning of the seriousness of the risk to them.
5/7/07 18:53 JR