Erectile dysfunction or male impotency is an abnormal condition in which the patient cannot achieve and sustain erection of the penis partially or fully. There might be various reasons behind this abnormality like diseases like diabetes mellitus, Hypertension, Heart diseases, sexual tension, kidney diseases, physical injury, or psychological issues like depression, stress, nervousness and habits like smoking and alcohol. Properly diagnosed, this dysfunction can be treated well within time. Different types of medications and treatments are available today, some of them being surgical treatment, vacuum devices, hormonal therapies, injected devices, sex counseling, administration of drugs. Though all of them have proved effective in treating, due to laborsome and cumbersome processing involved in other methods, today drugs are more popular than others. Let us have a look at some of the drugs available in the market today for the treatment of erectile dysfunction.

The most popular and widely used drug throughout the world for this abnormality is Sildenafil citrate (generic name), famously known as VIAGRA (brand name). It is now prescribed by doctors for impotency in men. First introduced in the march of 1998, it is the first oral (a tablet taken through mouth) medicine that has been proved successfully to improve erections in men. Viagra has achieved wide popularity and recognition in such a short span due to its simplicity in administering. Other popular impotence drugs that came into the market after Viagra and belonging to the same category are Vardenafil (Levitra) and Tadalafil (Cialis). All these belong to the same class of drugs called phosphodiesterase (PDE 5) inhibitors.

These drugs generally don't stimulate erection in normal men, but only in those who have difficulty in achieving and sustaining erections enough for a satisfactory intercourse due to a genuine medical problem. It doesn't increase desire and it isn't an aphrodisiac. Infact it works the other way around, Viagra needs sexual stimulation to function properly, so desire comes first and then the administration of the drug brings about the desired erection. Without sexual desire, Viagra won't have any effect.

These drugs have been successful with almost 70% of men reporting satisfaction with their erection. Past history also affects the impact of drugs, the greater the damage to the mechanism, the lesser the success rate. Males with diseases like diabetes, hypertension and spinal cord injury reported around 50% of them responding well to drugs. Prostrate cancer is believed to hit the most, but even in this case these drugs showed a satisfactory rate of 43%.

Certain precautions need to be taken while taking these pills. It is not recommended to everyone. Patients with heart diseases taking nitrates, medications for hypertension and diabetes, antifungal medication, poppers need to be careful while popping these pills and must have to consult their physician beforehand. These drugs should be taken on empty stomach about one hour before intercourse. These PDE 5 inhibitors have some side effects like headache, dizziness, hypotension, indigestion, nasal congestion, visual problems. These effects are mild enough to continue with medication.

Viagra is available in doses of 25mg, 50 mg and 100 mg. Viagra is a blue, rounded, film-coated, diamond-shaped tablet. Cialis is available in 5, 10 and 20 mg pills. Levitra is available in 2.5, 5, 10, 20 mg orange tablets. Cialis has the ability to sustain an erection upto 36 hours, when compared to upto 4 hours for Viagra and Levitra. These drugs are rapidly absorbed. Men with not so severe problem are prescribed the lowest dose and men with severe dysfunction the highest dosage. Only one pill of any of those drugs is recommended. These drugs have provided hope for millions of men worldwide looking for a solution for their dysfunction

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