TORONTO - Health Canada is warning Canadians not to use two foreign-made health products, one marketed as a lactation stimulant for breastfeeding women and the other a sexual dysfunction aid for men.
The lactation stimulant was found to contain bacterial contamination while the sexual dysfunction product contains a prescription-only drug.
Neither product is authorized for sale in this country but Health Canada says they may have been purchased by Canadians travelling abroad.
The lactation stimulant is a product called Galactogil, made by Iprad Group of Paris; the bacteria it contains can cause a variety of adverse effects, such as pneumonia and blood poisoning.
The sexual dysfunction product is called Santi Bovine Penis Erecting Capsule and its manufacturer is unknown.
But the product has been found to contain sildenafil, which is used in several prescription sexual dysfunction drugs.
Unsupervised use of sildenafil by patients with heart disease can lead to serious cardiovascular side-effects such as sudden cardiac death, heart attack, stroke, hypertension, chest pain and abnormal heartbeat.
Other side-effects associated with the drug's use include temporary vision loss, seizure, prolonged erection, headache, flushing, nasal congestion and abdominal pain. It should not be used by individuals taking any type of nitrate drug such as nitroglycerine due to the risk of developing potentially life-threatening low blood pressure.
