The Dangers of Gas Station Sex Pills

A pharmacy and a gas station have little in common, save for the drink fridges and the candy aisle. As you might imagine, if you’re looking for safe medications, one retailer is clearly preferable over the other.

If you’ve come across male enhancement pills claiming to give you better erections right next to the lotto scratchers, you may have wondered, do gas station boner pills work?

Though these products may seem like an easy solution to sexual performance issues like ED, we’re here to tell you that over-the-counter sex pills aren't as safe or effective as ED medications like Viagra®.

First: Gas station sex pills often don’t work. You’re more likely to end up with a headache or upset stomach instead of an erection. Plus, there’s also a chance that these products illegally contain high doses of Viagra, which can land you in a hospital bed.

Still curious why you should trust ED meds your urologist recommends over those touted by a store clerk? Keep reading to find out what gas station erection pills contain, whether or not they work, and why they can be bad for your health.

Some of the gas station boner pills on the market today have built themselves decent brand recognition as so-called over-the-counter sex pills. Whether you’re struggling with erectile dysfunction (ED) or premature ejaculation (PE), these products claim to solve (and enhance) everything.

A few of these enhancement supplements include:

• Horny goat weed

• Rhino® pills (Platinum Rhino®, Gold Rhino®, Krazzy Rhino®, etc.)

• Nizagara®

• Extenze®

• Stree Overlord® pill

You could find eleven more on retailers’ shelves by the time you read this. Even the FDA has trouble keeping up with the number of products on the market, and most lack scientific backing.

Here are some highlights about the most common ingredients in these mystery dick pills:

• Horny goat weed. Also called epimedium, horny goat weed has been shown to provide small benefits to erectile dysfunction in testing on animals due to an ingredient, icariin. However, there are no significant human studies showing whether or not these effects can translate to people.

• Red ginseng. Often used in traditional Chinese medicine, red ginseng products lack much scientific evidence to show any value as an ED treatment. We’ve written more about the research on ginseng and ED.

• Yohimbine. Derived from the Yohimbe tree, Yohimbine may increase sex drive, but it also isn’t clear how it compares in efficacy to regular ED medications. It can also lead to several side effects (including some serious ones, like heart attacks).

• Nizagara. This product contains ingredients like L-arginine, red berry, vitamin B6, vitamin B12, and folic acid, which have occasionally been linked to ED health benefits. Unfortunately, Nizagara contains an unlabeled ingredient, too: Viagra’s active ingredient, sildenafil.

There is little to substantiate any of the claims made about these products, and none of them have been tested in humans at scale or approved by the FDA for use as an ED treatment.

Are these things safe? No, not even remotely.

These dietary supplements are not FDA-approved for ED, and even the “best” gas station erection pills may be the worst choice you can make for your health, for a few reasons:

• They contain natural ingredients that lack rigorous research support.

• These drugs don’t undergo approval, oversight, and safety standards from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

• They sometimes illegally contain ingredients that aren’t mentioned on their label.

Not only are the claims on these drugs limited in medical rigor (unlike the FDA-approved stuff), but compared with established prescription drugs, they’re decades behind in terms of testing. All of this adds up to shoddy claims, inaccurate labeling, and even the illegal inclusion of prescription medications.

In 2013, the Pharmacognosy Review concluded, “Due to unavailability of the safety data, unclear mechanisms, and lack of knowledge to support the extensive use of these substances, uses of these products may be risky to the human being.”

In 2015, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration issued a public notification to consumers that products marketed as “herbal Viagra” aren’t safe. The reason? These convenience store herbal supplements actually contained sildenafil, the active ingredient in the real version of Viagra. Why is this a bad thing? Although they contain the active ingredient in Viagra, the FDA has warned that this is both illegal to do and undisclosed in the ingredients list.

Yes, sildenafil is technically the ingredient you want if you have ED. But you don’t want it in unmonitored, random doses. Gas station pills with sildenafil sound great until you realize that the dosing is not measured rigorously, making it a particularly risky sort of roulette to play with your erectile health.

Do gas station pills make you last longer? Do they improve your erections?

There’s not much  reliable information indicating they do either, except in cases where these pills illegally contain any amount of actual sildenafil. And remember, there’s no such thing as gas station Viagra. As we said above, Viagra is only truly safe and effective when prescribed at the dose you need for your ED.

What gas station penis pills lack in scientific backing for their benefits, they more than make up for in risks and side effects.

Seriously, look at the side effects of just a few of the “natural ingredients” commonly found in ED supplements:

• Yohimbine can cause high blood pressure and sweating.

• Ginseng can cause insomnia and digestive issues.

• Ginkgo biloba can cause seizures in rare cases.

• Researchers ended a study on L-arginine early because six people (six!) died, compared with zero in the placebo group, when researching it in heart attack survivors.

The ingredients listed above are often in gas station sex pills. Read that again.

And don’t forget that some of these supplements can cause a variety of other not-so-fun symptoms like headaches, chest pain, and blood pressure fluctuations similar to those experienced with improperly dosed prescription ED medications — in some cases because they illegally contain improperly dosed ED medications.

Tainted sexual enhancement products can potentially lead to heart attack — not a cheap evening of better sex.

Medication for erectile dysfunction should always be prescribed by a trained and certified healthcare professional. The most commonly prescribed are phosphodiesterase type 5 (PDE5) inhibitors. PDE5 inhibitors keep you hard by keeping the blood vessels in your penis dilated, and your corpora cavernosa engorged.

There are several types you may have heard of:

• Sildenafil (active ingredient of Viagra) is typically taken at least 30 to 60 minutes before sex and can provide about four hours of erectile dysfunction symptom relief.

• Tadalafil (active ingredient of Cialis®) can provide up to 36 hours of game time per dose.

• Vardenafil (active ingredient of Levitra®), like Viagra, is also used at least 60 minutes before sex, but tends to last a little longer.

• Avanafil (active ingredient of Stendra®) can work in 15 minutes. It’s a newer ED drug, and research shows fewer side effects with avanafil than older drugs.

• Hard Mints are chewable ED meds that contain the same ingredients found in Viagra® and Cialis® and have a fresh wintergreen flavor.

Several of these have been used to treat pulmonary arterial hypertension in the past (and sometimes still are). So if you’re currently receiving other blood pressure treatments, such as nitrates, you’ll want to let your healthcare provider know to avoid dangerous side effects.

ED is a common health condition associated with heart disease, high blood pressure, and poor blood flow. It affects an estimated 30 million to 50 million men across the U.S. That’s one in four guys, so it’s nothing to be embarrassed about — certainly nothing that makes you anything other than normal.

We get that some men feel self-conscious about ED, but if you’re buying a gas station pill to avoid going to the doctor, well — just connect with a doctor. Similar to Spanish fly and other alternative treatments for ED, Rhino pills and related  products are all flash and no substance. In fact, they could be dangerous, too.

Embarrassment is a ground-level problem though, so let us give you some perspective:

• Seeing a healthcare professional is the best way to find a solution. They’ll also be much less judgmental than the people in line behind you, and you won’t have to buy a Snickers® to disguise your purchase.

• Healthcare providers can offer tailored medical advice. This is the most direct route to safe and effective treatment and can be personalized based on your needs.

• Healthcare professionals can screen for health conditions commonly associated with ED symptoms. From obesity and diabetes to anxiety and depression, there are many conditions that can impede your sex life. A visit with a board-certified professional can help you find the root cause of your erectile problems — and relief.

In addition to lifestyle changes and therapy, you might also receive recommendations for medications we mentioned, like tadalafil or sildenafil (Cialis or Viagra).

You may end up with a different medication altogether, which is fine. Just make sure that it’s safe. Schedule a call with a healthcare professional today to tackle ED once and for all.