Main Contents

Ten years of Viagra (Sildenafil).

In 1998 the laboratory Pfizer presented an oral medication to treat erectile dysfunction today worldwide known as Viagra (sildenafil citrate). Despite the commotion that resulted, at both professional and popular levels.

At first sales were not what was expected and patients accepted it with some reluctance and fear. Ignorance of many general practitioners and specialists did not help its introduction.

Viagra (sildenafil) was a medicine, both in stages of research and in clinical use, but it demonstrated a high efficiency (the response in patients is amazing) with few side effects.

It needs to be noted that this is a medicine developed to treat a specific medical and psychological condition: erectile dysfunction. Unfortunately now there are people who use it to improve their sexual performance. Today it has also being studied for its use in women and used for pulmonary insufficiency.

Back then we started to hear things like: "it affects the heart and the sight", " you could become blind if you use it … or even die", "the elderly are going to take it and increase health risks", "he will cheat on his wife or even leave her for another woman " so that what wished first became for both partners the most feared. Even today, in 2008, there are patients asking whether it "will do harm to them because they have hypertension or heart disease."

The false beliefs about the problems induced by the Viagra (sildenafil) were introduced then, in the social imagination.

But nobody though that, between erectile dysfunction and its resolution by taking an oral medication some essential steps needed to be taken.

Men suddenly needed to be encouraged to seek for a sexual consultation, go to it, go through the inevitable and unavoidable diagnostic stage and then having to go through another feared scene, go to the pharmacy and overcome the shame of buying the prescription drug itself.

It is very common to hear patients tell us: "I am not going to buy Viagra (sildenafil) without going through a medical exam to find out the causes of my erectile dysfunction" which clearly shows that many men want to "make things right."

Nevertheless men needed time to adapt to this new reality and their consumer behavior had to change what was helped by its effectiveness. Let us not forget that at some point we started hearing things like "magic pill" or "the pill of happiness” which helped a lot men to change their beliefs about Viagra (sildenafil).

Some pharmacists, were used to sell some prescription drugs without having patients presenting the prescription itself but very fast they realized that dispensing Viagra (sildenafil) without seeing the prescription was not a good idea. Men had to change their mindset and assume their impotence. In addition it is not ethical to dispense a prescription drug without a prescription.

Even the doctor had several levels of conflict: not knowing how or when to inquire about the sex lives of their patients, not been seeing as intrusive, inappropriate or be suspected of seducing its patient. In addition we know that patients do not always share their sexual difficulties.

Sometimes they have problems with the issue (prejudice, ignorance and lack of training, values and beliefs, their own modesty) and do not dare to ask or even talk about it.

Back then doctors did not have tools as effective, safe and easy to use to treat the erectile dysfunction such as Viagra (sildenafil) and now Cialis (tadalafil) and Levitra (Vardenafil).

Doctors feared that Viagra (sildenafil), as well as the pathology itself, not yet well known, would bring severe or fatal side effects. They decided to wait for a more widespread use and let the specialists to treat their patients with this medication.

This was probably the safer way to proceed to help Viagra (sildenafil) to become the most used treatment of erectile dysfunction in men living with frustration, embarrassment and anxiety. Men did not need to suffer anymore in silence and could expose their sexual life to their doctors.

It has to be noted that Viagra (sildenafil) is not an aphrodisiac. Viagra (sildenafil) does not act in the brain or the heart, but only in the corpora cavernosa of the penis in the presence of sexual desire and stimulation.

Ten years after its emergence it can be said that many of the ghosts, prejudices and false beliefs disappeared and that both doctors and patients know much more about Viagra (sildenafil).

Viagra (sildenafil citrate) has become one of the most commonly used prescription drugs today. What encouraged other pharmaceutical companies like Lilly to developed Cialis (tadalafil) and Bayer which introduced Levitra (vardenafil). Cialis (tadalafil) has a longest duration (36hs) and Levitra (vardenafil) has a more specific action.

Currently in Argentina, sales of all oral drugs to treat impotence exceeded 29,000,000 tablets in 2007. Viagra sold more than 10 tablets per second in the countries where it is registered (not counting Cialis or Levitra sales).