Erectile Dysfunction (ED) drugs like Viagra, Cialis and Levitra have been implicated as possibly causing an increased incidence in a serious eye disease called Anterior Ischemic Optic Neuropathy (AION).

In 2005 the FDA received 43 post-marketing reports of sudden vision loss attributed to AION in patients taking ED medications. There was also a report in the Journal of Neuro-Ophthalmology that identified seven patients who had AION within 36 hours of their last use of an ED drug. These reports caused the FDA to issue the following drug safety alert to physicians:

Physicians should:

• Advise patients to stop use of all PDE-5 inhibitors and seek medical attention in the event of a sudden loss of vision in one or both eyes. Such an event may be a sign of non-arteritic anterior ischemic optic neuropathy (NAION), a cause of decreased vision, which can result in permanent loss of vision.
• Discuss with patients the increased risk of NAION in individuals who have already...

Do you have family members with eye-related conditions?

The two main eye diseases in adults that have a genetic link are glaucoma and age-related macular degeneration (AMD).

Glaucoma is a deterioration of the optic nerve caused by pressure in the eye or poor blood flow to the optic nerve. It has no symptoms at its onset. In most cases if you wait until you begin to realize there is something wrong with your vision to get glaucoma diagnosed, upwards of 70% of your optic nerve will have already been destroyed. Once the nerve is destroyed there is no way of reversing that today and treatment is focused on trying to preserve whatever nerve tissue is left.

Your chances of getting glaucoma are four to 10 times higher if you have a close relative with glaucoma. Getting your eyes examined regularly is always important but even more so if there is a family history of glaucoma.

Macular degeneration is the leading cause of blindness in most of the developed world. It too can cause...