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Highlights
- Viagra has been on the market for 25 years as of 2023 and we’ve learned quite a bit about it.
- Sorting fact from myth about Viagra and learning real facts can lead to better-informed medical decisions.
- Viagra’s history may also drive the future of ED drugs.
Since it was introduced in 1998, Viagra has collected a wide range of anecdotes, facts, and trivia, some of which deserve a much wider audience. Here are some of the most interesting things we’ve learned about Viagra over its quarter century on the market.
1. Viagra was developed by accident.
Sildenafil, the active ingredient in Viagra, was originally developed to treat hypertension and angina pectoris, a type of chest pain associated with heart disease. Sildenafil is a vasodilator, opening up blood vessels, and the goal was to lessen the pain. Its ability to make it easier to get and keep an erection was a side effect discovered as researchers were running human tests.
2. Viagra was the first oral drug for treating erectile dysfunction.
As hard as it might be to believe now, with drugs like Cialis and Levitra available, before Viagra arrived in 1998 there was no oral treatment for ED. Many treatments were either mechanical, such as vacuum pumps, or required injections directly into the penis.
3. The name for Viagra existed before the drug.
Pfizer’s advertising department had developed the name “Viagra,” combining the words “vitality” and “Niagra,” but hadn’t found the right medication to pair it with. During testing, Viagra had the less catchy name of UK-92480.
4. You may have taken Viagra without realizing it.
Sildenafil is used under the brand name Revatio to help treat the symptoms of pulmonary arterial hypertension. It’s also prescribed “off-label,” or technically unapproved for that use, to help treat Reynaud’s phenomenon, a syndrome where small arteries spasm and reduce blood flow to the extremities.
Remember, though, to only use Viagra in the prescribed dose and timing from your doctor. Viagra should generally only be used once per day, about 30 minutes to an hour before intimacy.
5. Viagra is a treatment for ED, not a cure.
While the effects of Viagra can feel miraculous, it doesn’t cure ED; if you stop taking Viagra, the ED will return. Reversing ED is possible, but it takes more than the little blue pill, and if it doesn’t work, you’ll need to consider alternate treatments.
6. Viagra can’t prevent pregnancy or sexually transmitted infections.
Because of Viagra’s effectiveness and the way it works, many people have assumed it can do everything: prevent sexually transmitted infections (STIs), block pregnancy, increase libido, and even automatically give you an erection.
In reality, Viagra can only help you become erect and stay erect when you’re sexually stimulated. It can’t increase your libido, and it certainly can’t prevent pregnancy or STDs. Always practice safe sex with your partner.
7. Not everyone can take Viagra.
If you’re using heart or blood pressure medication such as nitrates, have liver or kidney disease, or have vision concerns, you shouldn’t take Viagra.
While women aren’t explicitly at risk from taking Viagra, it’s not clear what benefits they derive from it, so it’s better left to men, at least for now.
8. Viagra won two scientists an IgNobel Award.
You may have heard that Viagra has been tested to treat jet lag. But behind that anodyne statement are some rather large qualifiers, namely that so far it’s only been tested on hamsters.
To be fair to the scientists behind the study, they were simply following animal model protocol for research. But the idea of flying hamsters on Viagra was so funny that they won an IgNobel, an award celebrating odd or trivial achievements in science. The actual Nobel remains, alas, out of reach.
9. If you take Viagra, you should avoid grapefruit.
While nobody is entirely sure just which chemical in grapefruit interferes with prescription medication like Viagra, what is known is that it binds to the enzyme CYP3A4 in the gastrointestinal tract. This prevents the body from processing many drugs, including Viagra, as quickly as they normally do.
The good news is that the effect is only temporary, so if you’ve just had some grapefruit juice, you should be OK to take Viagra after a day or so.
10. A heavy meal can slow down Viagra’s effectiveness.
Similarly, a high-fat meal may slow down how quickly Viagra enters the bloodstream. So, if you’re thinking about romance after dinner, stick with something lighter. And there’s another good reason that you should skip fatty meals if you’re taking Viagra — they may be interfering with erectile function over the long term.
11. Viagra can keep your flowers fresher for longer.
It may be an expensive way of doing it, but Viagra works in flower stems the same way it does in your body, opening up vessels in the stems of cut flowers to keep water flowing into them.
12. Viagra is one of the most counterfeited products in the world.
While for obvious reasons there are no exact records of just how many counterfeiting operations are out there, ongoing seizures of pills and other data point to Viagra being one of the most faked products out there.
These fakes can be extremely dangerous — everything from printer ink to rat poison has been found in them. So buy your Viagra only from a U.S.-based pharmacy with proper supply chains.
13. Viagra’s future may be as an over-the-counter medication . . .
While currently there’s no such thing as over-the-counter Viagra in the U.S., an over-the-counter version called Viagra Connect has been available for several years in the U.K. It’s not clear yet when, or if, Viagra Connect will come to the U.S., but many are watching it closely.
14. . . . or as a topical medication.
The next big frontier for sildenafil may be as a topical cream. Research is ongoing into a lower-dose cream you can apply to get more focused effects. This would help limit Viagra’s side effects, such as headaches, and make it easier to time use for intimacy.
15. You can get legitimate Viagra, online, from a real pharmacy.
To learn more about Viagra and other medications, and see how eDrugstore can help you get them securely, discreetly, and properly, visit our erectile dysfunction page!
Dan is a long-time freelance writer focusing on technology, science, health, and medicine, with a lifelong interest in physics, biology, and medicine. His work has taken a particular focus on scientific studies “beyond the headlines,” reading the study to more closely examine the results.