The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) has been known to buy Viagra to help soldiers experiencing erectile dysfunction (ED).
Israel recently put in an order for erectile dysfunction (ED) drugs for soldiers in the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF).
A report in the August 30 edition of The Telegraph, a leading UK newspaper, said that the Israel Defense Ministry has ordered 1,200 100 mg tablets of sildenafil citrate (the active ingredient in Viagra) as part of an order by the Ministry’s medical corps. Also in the order were things like sweet chili sauce, tires, and equipment for warming wounded people. Because the order was made by the Ministry’s medical corps, it means that the sildenafil citrate tablets are meant for Israeli soldiers, rather than, say, other defense ministry personnel.
Sildenafil citrate, as marketed by Pfizer under the trade name Viagra, has been used to treat ED since 1998.
Why did the IDF order the medication?
It’s For the Exact Reason You’d Think
According to The Telegraph, Haaretz, Israel’s oldest daily newspaper, said that the tablets would be used for treating soldiers with sexual performance problems. The Defense Ministry has refused further comment on the matter, citing privacy issues. The typical dosage of Viagra prescribed by physicians is 50 mg, so the 1,200 tablets could actually represent 2,400 standard doses, assuming the tablets are split, which is something many men do to save money, because the 100 mg tablets generally cost the same as the 50 mg tablets. The IDF has approximately 1.5 million males age 17 to 49, so the order amounts to approximately 1 dose for every 625 male soldiers.
PDE-5 Inhibitors Have Other Properties That Could Be Useful
This apparently isn’t the first time drugs in the same class as Viagra have been procured by the Israeli military. The Telegraph reports that, in the past, the IDF has purchased Cialis as a drug for keeping pilots awake when flying high altitude missions. Cialis, like Viagra, is a type of drug known as a PDE-5 inhibitor, and another study of 51 Israeli mountaineers on Mount Kilimajaro showed that those who took Cialis suffered less from altitude sickness and had better success at reaching Kilimanjaro’s summit.
Altitude sickness affects up to 40% of climbers at altitudes up to 10,000 feet above sea level, and more than 50% of climbers at higher altitudes. “Altitude sickness” is an umbrella term covering disorders that affect the brain and lungs that afflict climbers at high altitudes. High altitude pulmonary edema specifically is helped by PDE-5 inhibitors, because these drugs increase nitric oxide levels in the blood vessels serving the lungs, causing the smooth muscles lining the blood vessels to relax, lowering pulmonary arterial pressure. This cuts down on production of pulmonary edema fluid.
Erectile Dysfunction Affects Men of All Ages
The IDF is one of the most battle-trained forces in the world, but erectile dysfunction is no respecter of occupation. ED can affect men of any age, though it becomes more common starting in a man’s 30s and increases in incidence with every subsequent decade. Sildenafil citrate has proven to be a very effective, convenient treatment for ED. Perhaps the order for the supply of sildenafil citrate tablets for IDF soldiers will give the men in the IDF one less distraction from their work.
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