Tainted Male Enhancement Products: What FDA Found and How to Protect Yourself

Supplements sold for sexual performance that secretly contain prescription drugs.

Hidden drugs are the best documented risk in this product category. An FDA laboratory found that 15 of 26 herbal products sold for "sexual performance" held undeclared ED drugs or close copies of them (Gryniewicz et al. 2009). FDA keeps a public list of tainted sexual enhancement products and says the list is not complete (FDA, Sexual Enhancement and Energy Product Notifications). We have no test showing that HoneyBoost holds anything beyond its label. We also cannot rule it out, and no review site can.

Honey in the name is a flavor and a brand word. The ingredient list has sugar, corn syrup, water and pectin and does not list honey. Separately, FDA has warned about honey-based sexual enhancement products that hide drugs (FDA, Tainted Honey-based Products). Those are a different kind of product, which is why we keep the two apart.

Because you cannot weigh a risk you do not know about.

The first interaction to know about is with nitrates, the medicines used for chest pain such as nitroglycerin. FDA warns that sexual enhancement products sometimes contain hidden sildenafil or tadalafil, and that mixing those drugs with nitrates can drop blood pressure to a dangerous level (FDA, Sexual Enhancement and Energy Product Notifications). MedlinePlus says the same about sildenafil itself (MedlinePlus, Sildenafil). HoneyBoost does not list a drug. But you cannot see inside a gummy, so if you take a nitrate, ask your doctor or pharmacist before using any product sold for male sexual performance.

Some symptoms are not a reason to look up a supplement. Call 911 for chest pain or pressure, trouble breathing, fainting, or signs of a stroke such as a drooping face or slurred speech (CDC, Heart Attack Signs). Get urgent care for an erection that lasts more than four hours, or for sudden vision or hearing loss; MedlinePlus lists these as reasons to seek help with sildenafil-type drugs (MedlinePlus, Sildenafil).

On FDA's page for tainted products and its notifications.

FDA keeps a public list of products marketed for sexual enhancement or energy that it has found to hold hidden ingredients (FDA, Sexual Enhancement and Energy Product Notifications). It also published a warning about honey-based products with hidden drugs (FDA, Tainted Honey-based Products). The list is not complete, since FDA says new products keep appearing. Not being on the list does not prove a product is clean. Being on it is a clear reason to stop.

Tell a clinician, keep the bottle, and file a MedWatch report.

If something goes wrong, tell your clinician first, keep the bottle and its lot code, and report the event to FDA at MedWatch (FDA, MedWatch). A report helps FDA spot patterns, such as hidden drugs, that a single buyer cannot see. Also tell the seller, whose order desk number is on the contact page.

Stop and ask a clinician if a rash, swelling, a racing or irregular heartbeat, dizziness, a strong headache, stomach upset that does not pass, mood changes or trouble sleeping show up after you start. These are listed under the ingredients' cautions, and they are the reason the label tells you to speak to a physician. You can report a problem with any supplement to FDA through MedWatch (FDA, MedWatch).