Viagra


 * VIAGRA **

** Purpose of Viagra ** The main purpose of Viagra is to help men with Erectile Dysfunction, or ED. ED is when a man has trouble getting an erection or maintaining an erection before or during sex. When a man gets sexually aroused, the brain sends an impulse telling the arteries in his penis to widen; this makes more blood flow to the penis. The penis expands, hardens, and becomes erect. ED happens when not enough blood flows to the penis, preventing an erection (Pfizer, 2010). Every man experiences erectile dysfunction from time to time, so doctors try to restrict a formal diagnosis of ED to cases in which a man is unable to develop and sustain in erection “adequate” for intercourse in at least 25% of attempts (Simon, 2005). ** How Viagra Works ** When a man takes Viagra, the sildenafil citrate in the pill, which is the active ingredient, enters his bloodstream and flows throughout his body. The sildenafil citrate attaches to an enzyme in his penis and disables it. When the man becomes sexually aroused, the brain sends its normal message to cells in the penis, which produce nitric oxide. The nitric oxide creates cGMP, which start to relax the arteries in the penis. Since the enzyme has been disabled, the cGMP in the penis does not break down. Instead, it builds up and lets the arteries in the penis fully dilate. The penis inflates with blood, and the man gets a full erection (Brain, 2004). ** History of Viagra ** The first real breakthrough in the treatment of ED came in 1983. Prior to that time, it was thought that ED was primarily mental. This perception was proved wrong at an American Urological Association meeting in 1983, when Dr. Giles Brindley injected his penis with the drug phentolamine. After the injection, Dr. Brindley displayed one of the first drug induced erections to the audience of urologists. What did the phentolamine do? It relaxed the smooth muscles that can be found in things like blood vessels, specifically the blood vessels in his penis. These smooth muscles play apart in every erection, so in the mid-1980s, it was common for men with ED to inject smooth-muscle-relaxer drugs as a treatment for the problem. Viagra makes this process a lot easier for two reasons: you can use a pill instead of injection, and Viagra only causes an erection when a man is sexually aroused, phentolamine causes an immediate and uncontrolled erection (Brain, 2004). Pfizer Inc’s Viagra was approved by the US Food and Drug Administration on March 27, 1998 as the first oral medication for the treatment of ED. As of 2006, more than 150 million prescriptions have been written for Viagra for over 25 million men with ED and the drug has been approved for marketing in more than 120 countries around the world (Padma-Nathan, 2006). ** Getting Viagra- Communication With Your Doctor ** You can only get Viagra through a prescription from your doctor or health care provider. People try to sell Viagra over the internet, but this is illegal, and buying it without a prescription could lead to more harm than help because you could end up with a counterfeit product. What does this mean? It means that if you feel like you have ED, and want information or help for it, you have to ask. Communication is key, ED is one disease that would be near impossible for your doctor to diagnose without you mentioning the problem first. There are a variety of options; you can talk to your normal doctor if you feel comfortable or you can see a specialist, such a Urologist because they deal with the urinary tract and reproductive organs. If you aren’t comfortable with either of those two options, you have the option to talk to a sexual health doctor because this is exactly the type of thing they specialize in. ** Tips on having “The Talk” ** If you are comfortable asking your primary health care provider about the potential of having ED, then I would recommend doing that first. This is the doctor that is most likely going to know your body best. There are a variety of things that can cause ED, such as certain medications, vascular disease, diabetes, and prostate cancer, just to name a few (Simon, 2005). A lot of things that can lead to ED can be changed or eliminated from your lifestyle without the necessity of taking medication. Most of the things that can cause ED, your doctor is probably going to know about you anyway, so this would be the best place to start. A lot of men are embarrassed by the idea of admitting even to themselves that they might have ED, let alone admitting it to their doctor. A good way to think about it is that it happens to a lot of men, especially older men. Approximately ten percent of the male population “will at some point in their lives face the complete inability to achieve or maintain an erection” (Melman, 1999). Also, think about it like this: if your left arm was constantly going numb, you wouldn’t be afraid to tell your doctor that you fear you might have a problem with your heart, so try not to be embarrassed about ED because the penis is just another organ of the body, and its functionality is beyond your control. Getting medication for your heart could save your life, just like getting a prescription for Viagra could save your sex life. If you really do not feel comfortable talking to your normal doctor, the next best thing would be to go to a sexual health doctor. These types of doctors specialize in things like diagnosing sexual impotence. Sexual health doctors will know the exact questions to ask you about your lifestyle or current medical conditions or prescriptions to determine if a prescription of Viagra is right for you. Talking to this type of doctor could be easier for some men because the doctors deal with the same types of problems all the time, and they are seen to pass less judgment on people who come in problems like ED. ** Risks Associated with Use ** The most common side effects of Viagra are headaches, facial flushing and upset stomach. Blurred vision or sensitivity to light can also occur. You shouldn’t take Viagra if you already take nitrates because this can cause an unsafe drop in blood pressure. Viagra should not be used with other medications that cause erections (such as Cialis). A low dose of Viagra might be right for people older than 65, people who have serious liver or kidney problems, or people with prostate problems or high blood pressure. It is important to mention that Viagra does not protect against sexually transmitted infections, including HIV, and if users experience an erection lasting more than 4 hours, to seek immediate medical help to avoid long-term injury (Pfizer, 2010). ** Resources ** Brain, M. (2004, November 8). //How Viagra Works//. Retrieved from http://health.howstuffworks.com/sexual-health/sexual-dysfunction/viagra.htm Melman, A. (1999). Impotence in the Age of Viagra. //Scientific America Presents, 6//. 62-67. Padma-Nathan, H. (2006). Sildenafil Citrate (Viagra) Treatment for Erectile Dysfunction: an Updated Profile of Response and Effectiveness. //International Journal of Impotence Research, 18//. 423-431. Pfizer Inc. (2010, August). Miscellaneous Information. Retrieved from http://www.viagra.com Simon, H. (2005). Erectile Dysfunction: the Viagra Revolution. //Harvard Men’s Health Watch, 9//. 1-6.