Men Worried About Baldness Run Into Telehealth Risks

A growing number of young men worried about hair loss are running into serious health trouble after—legally—buying the drug finasteride from telehealth providers, the Wall Street Journal reports. The story includes the accounts of 17 men who describe side effects ranging from sexual dysfunction and insomnia to depression and suicidal thoughts. All got their finasteride—the generic version of the hair-loss drug Propecia—from telehealth firms such as Hims and Keeps. While the drug has been around for three decades, the story reports that it's seeing a resurgence among young men:

• "That is largely because they are peppered with ads on social media pitching hair-loss medications from telehealth companies, which unlike drugmakers aren't required to disclose side effects and other risks in advertisements."

Representatives of the telehealth firms insist they put patient safety first and disclose side effects to potential customers on their websites, but the men interviewed suggest the warnings they received were not prominent enough. Dr. Justin Houman, a urologist at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, says he is seeing an additional one or two men a week seeking treatment for the sexual side effects of finasteride as the telehealth trade booms. "This is not something young men should take," he says. (Read the full story.)