Is Viagra Worth it?

Medical science is improving the lives of people day by day. Diseases once considered to be incurable or life-threatening, have now their treatments available in the market. Various treatment methods involving medication, surgery, medical devices and various other aspects are helping people to fight their health issues including both physical and psychiatric parameters. Every system of the body whether its cardiac, digestive, excretory, respiratory etc have its own importance for a healthy body. Likewise, the reproductive system or sexual system has its own importance in a satisfied person’s life.

Another aspect of the sexual system is that it is not related to only one person, it’s a base of a relationship between two persons attached to each other in a relationship. Sometimes the sexual disorder in one person strongly affects the lives of both people physically as well as mentally. Among these problems, a common sex-related problem in men these days is Erectile Dysfunction or impotence. Men suffering from these problems are unable to perform sexual activity in a satisfying manner. But the important thing is that as scientific research in every other health aspect, sex-related disorders are also curable now. There are various drugs and other treatment options available these days.

Below in this article, we will find about the best drug for impotence and its various parameters. For a proper understanding of the medicine and its benefits lets have a look at what Impotence is and what are its symptoms.

 

What is Erectile Dysfunction?

Erectile dysfunction, also termed as impotence, is a sexual disorder symptomized by having the inability to gain or maintain a penile erection during sexual activity. erectile dysfunction not affects the physical health but also disturbs a person emotionally by destructing self-confidence.

Penile erection occurs by two mechanisms, reflex erection and psychogenic erection. Reflex erection is gained by having a physical stimulus like by touching the penis via peripheral nerves, while psychogenic erection occurs due to an emotional or erotic stimulus. This type of erection involves the limbic system of the brain. After the stimulation of the penile shaft, nitric oxide is released in the brain causing the relaxation of smooth muscles of the penis, corpus cavernosum leading to a penile erection. Along with sexual stimulus, adequate levels of testosterone hormone and healthy pituitary gland are very important for proper erection. Therefore, erection can be compromised due to a lack of hormones, improper blood supply to the penis or any kind of psychological problems leading to impotence.

There are various causes of erectile dysfunction which can be physical or psychological in nature. Some of the major physical causes of erection are:

  • Coronary artery disease
  • Any injury like spinal cord injury
  • Impaired endothelial function
  • Diabetes
  • Cardiovascular diseases
  • Prostate surgery
  • Hormonal insufficiency
  • Trauma
  • Hypogonadism
  • Side effects of medicines

Psychological causes of impotence are:

  • Neurological disorder
  • Lack of emotional attachment with partner
  • Decreased libido
  • Stress

Erectile dysfunction can be treated by eliminating the underlying causes of the disorder like potassium deficiency, diseases or emotional causes. Besides these treatments, proper medical treatment is also inevitable in certain cases. The available treatment options of erectile dysfunction in the market are PDE5 inhibitor drugs (like sildenafil commonly sold under brand name of Viagra), prostaglandins, penile injections, a penis pump or surgical treatment (vascular reconstructive surgery).

Among all these therapeutic treatments Viagra has its own importance and outshines others due to its immediate effects, availability and ease of use.

 

What is Viagra?

Viagra has been a controversial yet widely discussed drug regarding the market for the last 30 years. As a PDE5 inhibitor, it relaxes the smooth muscles of the blood vessels in various areas of the body. The therapeutic effect of the drug is making the lives of people better.

Viagra is a blue diamond-shaped pill containing the active ingredient sildenafil citrate used for the treatment of erectile dysfunction as well as pulmonary arterial hypertension. The chemical formula of sildenafil citrate is C22 H30N6 O4S.

The active ingredient of Viagra, sildenafil citrate excretes as metabolite mostly in the faces. About 80% in the faeces and 13% in the urine, when administrated in the oral dosage. The drug should not be taken with a high-fat meal because it increases the time taken to reach the maximum plasma concentration by one hour. A high-fat meal also reduces the plasma concentration of drug by one-third.

Viagra was initially designed by the scientists of Pfizer pharmaceutical company. The drug was being researched for blood pressure, hypertension and heart problems like angina pectoris or ischemic heart disease etc.

During various trials of the drug, it was noted that the drug was far more effective to improve penile erection instead of angina. Therefore, in 1998 the drug was marketed as a first oral treatment to be approved for erectile dysfunction.

Viagra has gained a lot of fame in a short time because of its effects. Along with its positive effects, Viagra was also making its place in the illicit market, because a big male population consider it a wonder drug. Many researchers believe in the placebo effect of the drug but only in men, not in women.

 

Mechanism of action of Viagra

The first line of treatment which is usually adopted is the use of PDE5 inhibitors. Various drugs belonging to this class are Viagra, Levitra, Cialis etc. The mechanism of action of all PDE5 inhibitor drugs is almost the same.

The drugs belonging to this class inhibits the degradation of cyclic guanosine monophosphate (cGMP) by phosphodiesterase inhibitor enzyme (PDE5 inhibitor) in the corpus cavernosum tissues of the penis. The nitric oxide is released which binds to the guanylate cyclase receptors present in the corpus cavernosum of the penis. This results in an increase in levels of cGMP causing the relaxation of the smooth muscles of helicine arteries. The vasodilation of the muscles causes an increased flow of blood into the spongy tissues of the penis, producing an erection.

One thing is important to discuss here is that sexual stimulus is a must for the start of the reaction. There will be a lack of NO/cGMP system in the absence of a proper sexual stimulus and erection will not occur even after taking the pill.

Although, all the medicines belonging to this group are quite effective and produce satisfactory therapeutic effects, the most common and frequently used one among men is Viagra. It is the most frequently prescribed and purchased drug all around the globe for the treatment of erectile dysfunction. Here on this page, we are going to discuss PDE5 with special reference to Viagra.

 

Medical uses of Viagra

There are various medical uses of Viagra, included below:

Sexual dysfunction treatment:

The primary indication of Viagra is erectile dysfunction treatment. Viagra increases the erection capability of a man thus improving the sex life of a person. Viagra is also used as first-line treatment in men with diabetes mellitus, heart problems or high blood pressure, antidepressant-induced erectile dysfunction.

Pulmonary hypertension:

Viagra is also a potent drug to be used in the treatment of pulmonary arterial hypertension. It does not appear to have dangerous or life-threatening side effects when indicated for the disease.

Viagra is also under research as a treatment of high-altitude pulmonary oedema, but it is not recommended currently.

Raynaud’s phenomenon:

Viagra is used as a treatment for secondary Reynaud’s phenomenon. It is used to alleviate the symptoms of the disease i.e. vasospasm and treating severe ischemia and ulcers in the toes and fingers in patients of the disease. Viagra also has proven to be effective in reducing the frequency and duration of the vasospasm.

 

Non-medical uses of Viagra

There are various non-medical uses of Viagra. Some of them are declared as completely illicit but unfortunately, the young men are quite inclined towards it.

Recreational use of Viagra:

There has been an increase in the popularity of Viagra over the last few years, particularly in young adults. A big population of young men use it for recreational purposes despite not having any erectile dysfunction. Well, the reason behind it is due to complete misunderstanding and misleading knowledge about the medicine, thinking it to be a “wonder drug”. They believe that Viagra can increase the sexual capability, libido or can increase the size of the penis but the drug has no such effect at all. Viagra can only work after a proper sexual stimulus in patients with erectile dysfunction and has minimal effect on those not suffering from any sexual disorder.

Unprescribed and recreational use of viagra is common, particularly among the illegal drug users. Viagra tends to counteract the effects of various illicit substances. Some of the users mix Viagra with methylenedioxymethamphetamine, opiates or various other sexually stimulating drugs to compensate various side effects of the erectile dysfunction medicines. The use of viagra in combination with amyl nitrate can be fatal.

Jet Lag research:

A study by a group of scientists belonging to Argentina has proved that Viagra can be helpful in treating jet lag. The research has also been awarded by a Noble prize in Aviation in 2007.

Sports:

Viagra is believed to enhance the stamina of the sportsmen. Professional athletes find the drug useful as it enhances the performance by opening the blood vessels and thus increases the flow of blood leading to good oxygenation and enriching muscle strength.

Analog of Viagra:

There are synthetic analogues of Viagra’s active ingredient Sildenafil are available on the market in herbal or over the counter medicines. Such ingredients are adulterants. These synthetic structures have not undergone any kind of scientific study according to the legal manufacturing protocols. It is strongly recommended by health professional and drug regulatory authorities to not buy these medicines, as they can be potentially fatal for a person. Various laws are under considerations by the government to ban such illegal products in the market, but it will take some time.

 

What dose of Viagra is suitable for me?

There are three doses of Viagra available in the market. It comes in 25mg, 50mg and 100mg in tablet form. The best time to take the pill is 30 min before sexual activity. The dose should be started from 25mg once a day and can be increased if not giving satisfactory results but after proper consultation with your health service provider.

The dose of Viagra for pulmonary hypertension is slightly different. It comes under the name of Revatio, a white round film-coated tablet having a potency of 20mg thrice a day.

An overdose of Viagra can be dangerous. In case of any accidental intake of larger dose, immediately contact your doctor or poison control centre. Overdose may lead to various symptoms, some of which are given below:

  • Vomiting
  • Blurred vision
  • Papilledema
  • A damage may occur to the optic nerve
  • Priapism (unwanted erection for a longer duration)
  • Temporary blindness
  • Rhabdomyolysis
  • Diarrhoea
  • Viagra overdose sometimes leads to even death, but chances are very rare.

 

Side effects of Viagra

Viagra also has a few side effects which are not very common, but few people may suffer:

  • Nasal congestion
  • A headache
  • Visual impairment
  • Light sensitivity
  • Non-arteritic anterior ischemic optic neuropathy I.e. damage to optic nerve but it is very rare
  • Dyspepsia
  • Few men have also complained of experiencing cyanosis (a condition in which everything appears to be having a blue tinge)
  • Priapism (painful and unwanted long erection)
  • Heart attack
  • Sudden hearing loss (Viagra affects the optic nerves leading to hearing loss)
  • Intraocular pressure
  • Hypertension
  • Diabetes
  • Cholesterol
  • Heart problems

 

Interactions of Viagra with other drugs:

Like every other drug, Viagra also interacts with a few other drugs. A few of them are listed below:

HIV Proteases Inhibitors:

People taking HIV protease inhibitors should take Viagra after consultation with their doctor. Proteases inhibitors increase the likelihood of the various side effects caused by Viagra. It is recommended by the medical experts that the HIV patients should not take 25mg of Viagra in 48 hours.

Alpha-blockers:

Patients using alpha-blockers should be very cautious while taking Viagra. The concurrent use of Viagra with alpha-blockers can dangerously drop the blood pressure of the person. There should be a gap of 4 hours between the use of these medicines.

Viagra Contraindications:

Viagra is strictly contraindicated in the following persons or should consult their doctor.

  • People taking drugs containing nitrates, organic nitrites and nitric oxide
  • Men who are advised to restrain from sexual intercourse due to underlying cardiac risk factors
  • Liver impairment disorder
  • Individuals with a kidney disorder
  • Low Blood pressure
  • Having a history of Heart attack or stroke
  • In people with degenerative retinal disorders.

Conclusively, there are few restrictions or precautions that must be taken while using Viagra, but it is the best available drug in the market for the treatment of erectile dysfunction. The drug not only gives symptomatic release but also improves the disorder. The only precaution should be using the drug in the proper dose as prescribed by your doctor according to your health condition for best results.

 

References

  • https://www.webmd.com/erectile-dysfunction/…/cialis-levitra-staxyn-viagra-treat-ed
  • https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/314348.php
  • https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/…/the-most-popular-erection-drug-is-not-viagra
  • ttps://medshadow.org/features/decision-guide-to…drugs/ed-drug-comparison/
  • https://www.zavamed.com › Home › Erectile Dysfunction