Health experts and counsellors in Edo, Delta and Bayelsa have described the trending addiction of the use of aphrodisiacs and sex enhancement drugs by youths and some male adults for sexual potency as harmful.
They said the conception among the users that taking of substances would increase their vitality and sexual prowess was worrisome. The experts told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in separate interviews in the three states that many young men who use aphrodisiacs are ignorant of the health implications of their continued indulgence.
The experts noted that the dangers posed by aphrodisiacs seemed to have reached fever pitch, with several incidents resulting to shocking fatalities.
They called for increased sensitisation on what not to take and how to manage some of the recommended medications to mitigate abuse.
Dr Johnbull Ebube, an Asaba-based Nutritionist and Health Counsellor, said every drug, food or drink taken for the purpose of activating the human sex hormones to function optimally has side effects.
According to him, when the human body is pushed above its average functional capacity by means of artificial inducement, there is always a corresponding reaction that comes with it.
“Let me explain here for better understanding that the human body is programmed to work accordingly. But when you now want to push it to work beyond its limit, you should know that there must be consequences.
“These consequences I am talking about here are in the form of reactions to the inducement which you have given the body system.
“To some persons, it may come in the form of severe headache or general body weakness and to others, the reactions may come as dizziness or even brain damage.”
He warned that dependence on sex stimulants, drinks and foods has negative effects on the human mental capacity to respond optimally to sex.
“Sex enhancement reduces the man in you to enjoy long-term pleasure and live younger and energetic as people grow old,” he added.
Mr Gabriel Illobaechine. a 28-year-old graduate, a once serial user of aphrodisiac substances, told NAN that he was once an addict to sex drugs before he sought counselling from a medical doctor after he started having regular uneasiness.
He said “when I was in school, I used Viagra, a sex enhancement drug to motivate me.
“But sometime last year, I started having acute weakness and went for medical advice and confided in a doctor who advised me to stop taking the drugs and eat more fruits and vegetables.
The graduate said that when he stopped taking such enhancement medications, he felt better.
Dr Gbenga Oladipo, a Dietician at the University of Benin Teaching Hospital (UBTH), corroborated Ebube’s decision, saying that young people do not need to take aphrodisiac.
Oladipo said that the situation where young people resort to hard drugs to boost their sexual performance was worrisome, owing to the adverse health implications.
According to him, aphrodisiacs are prepared from foods or drugs to arouse sexual desires, and for men with erectile dysfunction.
“But some people abuse these substances due to peer pressure or wrong information; it must be prescribed by a physician because of the side effects. Abuse of aphrodisiac drugs can cause liver and kidney problems,” he said.
Similarly, Dr Bright Oniovokukor, the Project Manager of Indomitable Youth Organisation, said ignorance is the major cause of abuse of aphrodisiac drugs.
He said “there is high level of ignorance among those using aphrodisiac; they are not aware of the consequences; there is need for enlightenment about the sie effects.”
A Yenagoa-based Nutritionist, Mr Phil Ebiowei, who did not agree less with Oniovokukor’submission, blamed uncontrolled advertorials by companies and marketers of the believed potency of these medications on social media networks as one of the promoters of abuse of aphrodisiacs.
He said “in a digital age where sponsored advertisements on wellness claim to enhance sex drive, it becomes difficult not to believe in this myriad of drugs.”
Mrs Christiana Esenwah, a medical practitioner and Deputy Director, NAFDAC’s Directorate of Investigation and Enforcement, also cautioned against the use of sex enhancement drugs.
She added that “although some of these orthodox sex-enhancing medications are duly registered by the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC), they are to be taken only by prescription, under the supervision of a qualified medical practitioner.
“These drugs are not to be abused or taken indiscriminately because of the serious harmful effects.”
