7 Bizarre Drug Side Effects

News
By published
side-effects
Commonly prescribed drugs can cause very strange side effects. (Image credit: Shutterstock)

Prescription drugs are a mixed blessing. Millions of people rely on them to alleviate life-threatening or disruptive conditions. However, the chemical combinations within the drugs can cause bizarre and sometimes damaging side effects. Below are some of the strangest examples:  

Vanishing fingerprints                   

Forgetfulness

In the movies, amnesia (loss of memory) usually happens after a violent knock to the head. In medicine, however, short-term memory loss can also happen after taking certain medications. Some types of drugs blamed for this side effect include tranquilizers and sleeping pills.

Lost sense of smell

There have been some reports of patients completely losing the ability to smell (called anosmia) as a side effect of interferons, which are commonly used to treat hepatitis, leukemia and multiple sclerosis. One patient in Croatia stopped detecting scent just two weeks after taking the medication for the first time. Even 13 months after stopping the treatment, he still couldn't smell a thing.

Vegas, baby, Vegas

Using ropinirole (Requip) to treat restless legs syndrome or Parkinson's disease could lead to compulsive gambling and sex, according to its maker, GlaxoSmithKline. "Patients should inform their physician if they experience new or increased gambling urges, increased sexual urges or other intense urges while taking Requip," the drugmaker's product information states.

Midnight munchies

The sleeping pill zolpidem (Ambien) pops up in association with strange nocturnal side effects, including sleep-eating, sleep-cooking — even driving while asleep. Doctors are still searching for the cause, spurred by patients who worry about safety. "These people are hell-bent to eat," said Dr. Mark Mahowald, director of the Minnesota Regional Sleep Disorders Center, in a 2006 New York Times piece.

Hallucinations

Mefloquine is an agent that fights malaria, but one that comes with a steep price. Patients have complained of hallucinations and even suicide attempts while taking the drug. In 2009, CBS News reported that Lariam — a  drug containing mefloquine — generated more than 3,000 reports of patients with psychiatric problems.

Blue urine

Blue is a rare color in nature, which makes it startling when it appears in toilet wastewater. Several drugs can cause blue urine, including the antidepressant amitriptyline, the painkiller indomethacin (Indocin) and the anesthetic propofol (Diprivan). The blue color comes from artificial colors in these drugs.

Follow LiveScience on Twitter @livescience. We're also on Facebook & Google+.

Elizabeth Howell
Elizabeth Howell
Live Science Contributor

Elizabeth Howell was staff reporter at Space.com between 2022 and 2024 and a regular contributor to Live Science and Space.com between 2012 and 2022. Elizabeth's reporting includes multiple exclusives with the White House, speaking several times with the International Space Station, witnessing five human spaceflight launches on two continents, flying parabolic, working inside a spacesuit, and participating in a simulated Mars mission. Her latest book, "Why Am I Taller?" (ECW Press, 2022) is co-written with astronaut Dave Williams.