Second death from illegal sex drug reported in Singapore

Second death from illegal sex drug reported
25 April, 2008
The Straits Times

A 50-year-old man has died last week from complications of an infection, when he fell into a coma after taking an illegal sex drug, said the Health Sciences Authority (HSA) on Friday.

This is the second death from the consumption of illegal health products with sexual enhancement claims. Since February, HSA has issued an alert over such drugs like 'Power 1 Walnut' and 'Santi Bovine Penis Erecting Capsule'.

In its first update on the cases since April 11, HSA said the man was admitted to hospital earlier this month in a comatose state.

He regained partial consciousness but subsequently succumbed to complications of an infection arising from his medical condition.

HSA said there have been 16 new cases of serious adverse reactions associated with the illegal drugs. Of these new cases, three are very serious, with two patients in a coma state and one patient with extensive neurological damage caused by very low blood sugar in the brain, leading to memory loss.

The authority said there are now a total of 35 confirmed cases of men falling seriously ill after taking the drugs with another 70 suspected cases, in which the patients refuse to say what they took.

HSA ask members of the public who know someone who has bought or taken such illegal products to advise them to stop taking the illegal products.

Anyone who has taken such illegal products and are having symptoms suggestive of low blood sugar - sweating, drowsiness and confusion - should seek medical advice immediately.