Viagra uses - Medical and non-medical

Viagra, sildenafil is a drug that is used for the treatment of erectile dysfunction. But, its use is not limited to this particular treatment alone. It also has many other uses.

Viagra Medicinal uses

Impotence treatment

The primary medicinal use is the treatment of the sexual dysfunction known as erectile dysfunction. This is a condition in which a man finds it difficult to get and maintain an erection. It’s a popularly prescribed standard treatment for treating this condition. As a treatment option, it can be given to patients suffering from sexual dysfunction and who also suffer for depression.

Pulmonary arterial hypertension

Sildenafil has also been seen to effectively treat this rare disease, by reducing work pressure of the right ventricle of your heart, reducing the risk of right-sided heart failure. The enzyme known as phosphodiesterase type 5 (PDE5) is distributed in the smooth muscles of the lungs and penis. This means that the medication, only acts selectively and doesn’t relax the smooth muscles of the other parts of the body.

Acute mountain sickness or altitude sickness

One of the symptoms of altitude sickness is a condition known as high-altitude pulmonary edema. Mountain climbers, who suffer from this condition generally, experience symptoms such as breathing difficulty, cough, chest congestion and fatigue. Although a recent discovery, the effectiveness of this medication for the treatment of altitude sickness has made it an accepted form of treatment for this medical condition.

Sildenafil in sports

There have been cases where players have taken sildenafil as a performance enhancing drug. The reasoning is that the effect (dilation of blood vessels) of sildenafil will enrich the muscles of their body, which will have an effect on their performance.

Viagra Non-medical use

Used as a recreational drug

Unfortunately, it’s the effectiveness of the drug that has led to it being used as a recreational drug. Young adults, who have very little idea of the drug apart from the fact that “it helps your erections” have start regarding this drug as a ‘super drug’ that offers you bigger and better erections, increases sexual desire and also improves arousal. What they don’t realize is that this drug is only meant for those people who are suffering from erectile dysfunction and those who experience healthy erections shouldn’t use the medication, as this has been to actually cause certain sexual problems.

Young men who are in the habit of using illegal drugs have got started on the use of this drug. It’s also mixed with other recreational drugs to reduce their side effects.

Treatment of jet lag

Three Argentineans namely Santiago A. Plano, Diego A. Golombek and Patricia V. Agostino working in the Universidad Nacional de Quilmes, Argentina discovered that Viagra given to hamsters, who suffered from jet lag, aided their process of recovery. The research of sildenafil being used as a treatment for jet lag is still on.

Use of structural analogue of sildenafil

A structural analogue of sildenafil, called acetildenafil, is being used in various over-the-counter aphrodisiac products. Though marketed as ‘herbal products’ the presence of this analogue, means that they cannot be classified as herbal products by any means. A big problem with the use of this substance in various product is that the class of analogues that it belongs to, has not gone through kind of rigorous testing, which means its safety profile is still doubtful.