Women’s response to Viagra

The introduction of Viagra by Pfizer in the year 1998 brought about a revolution in the lives of many couples distressed with problems such as erectile dysfunction and even a lack of interest in sex. The little blue pill was introduced amidst controversy and a lot of hue and cry regarding the moral degradation it would bring about. But the fact remains that the pill has been able to help many men recover their sexual potency by curing their medical problem of erectile dysfunction. By the end of the 1999-2000 Viagra annual sales touched $ 1 billion.

Along with men, the benefits enjoyed by women by the introduction of Viagra have also been immense. The sexual pleasure enjoyed by the women is increased because of longer and harder erections. The drug has also enabled several couples to regain their control over their sexual life.

With the drastic changes brought in by the drug in men, researchers have also tried to determine the effects of Viagra on the sexual health of women. The hypothesis being that since Sildenafil (Viagra) is a drug which helps in muscle relaxation and in increasing the flow of blood to the genitals (leading to erections in men); the same should be true for women. However, the results regarding the effectiveness of the pill on women are contradictory and vary widely. Researchers are divided on the subject with no consensus emerging among them.

Researchers of the Columbia Presbyterian Center in New York worked on women who had reached menopause (which makes sex uncomfortable or difficult for many women because of lack of lubrication or sensation and arousal) and had been experiencing sexual problems for at least six months. The volunteers were treated with Viagra for 12 weeks.

The researchers have come to the conclusion that the drug, which generally works by increasing the levels of nitric oxide on the body, did succeed in increasing the blood flow to the genitals of women. However, the benefits of the drug seemed to end there with only about 25% of the respondents reporting an improvement in sexual pleasure. This figure is only as much as the placebo effect on respondents.

The level of sexual satisfaction or increase in sexual desire in the women was not significant. Despite an improvement in the clitoral sensation as well as lubrication, the final conclusion reached by these researchers was that Viagra has the potential to work and help in sexual function only if a person is aroused and that it has no role in increasing the level of sexual arousal in a woman. Researchers linked the lack of enjoyment in women to mean a more emotional rather than a physical response to sex.

Buy Viagra because most researches into the subject have revealed that Viagra may only be helpful in addressing some of the physical problems of sexual dissatisfaction or female impotency by increasing the blood flow into the genitals. However, if the problems are linked to other problems such as psychological problems (stress, depression) or relationship problems leading to lack of arousal or interest in sex, the pill may not be of any help.