If you thought that anti-potency drugs are only meant for withering old men, then you better read on. A two-year old boy in Britain has been dependent on the drug Viagra, not for the above mentioned reason but for another.
Oliver Sherwood takes Viagra four times a day to control pulmonary hypertension (PH), which is a rare and heart and lung condition that causes chronic high blood pressure.
Pulmonary hypertension causes the blood pressure in the arteries in the lungs to rise, and this puts a strain on the heart, reducing blood oxygen levels.
The toddler cannot walk more than a few steps without getting out of breath and a simple chest infection could be fatal for him, say the doctors who treat him.
However, as Oliver grows older, he will have to be put onto more expensive treatments to control his condition which may not be available in the cuts go ahead. In fact, his mother has launched a petition to keep funding for PH treatments on the National Health Service.
“Viagra is an expensive drug but it’s actually one of the cheapest to treat PH. When he started taking it the change was fantastic. I had my little boy back. Cutting any of these treatments to save money is scandalous when lives are at stake,” said Oliver’s mother.