Viagra: The Little Blue Pill

Many people do not understand the significance of Viagra. Unknown to most of the people using the drug today, Viagra was not intentionally developed as an erectile dysfunction drug. This is why this drug is considered no less as revolutionary in terms of medical achievement. Not only is Viagra being used as an erectile dysfunction drug now; it is also being used as a cure or preventive medicine for other conditions as well -- a ground-shattering achievement for a drug that was earlier lambasted for its supposed hazardous side effects. But what makes Viagra even more astounding is that it shattered borders far beyond the reaches of medical world. Viagra is not just effective in curing male impotence; it has reached other areas as well.

It was Pfizer who developed, patented, and later distributed Sildenafil Citrate, now known as Viagra. Viagra is also often called as the little blue pill due to its color. A diamond-shaped pill with the name "Pfizer" on one side, Viagra was released in 1998, with much hype and attention. The release of the erectile dysfunction medicine was much-awaited since no other company was able to create a drug that can remedy -- even momentarily and temporarily -- male impotence. Apparently, the answer to the ailment was the arterial wall in the penile muscle; Viagra relaxes the blood's passageway, making the flow of blood to the penis easier and erection possible even for people who have had conditions that disabled them to have a regular erection. Later on, many reports were released about the dangers of taking Viagra, although this was later set aside and was merely considered a backlash to huge attention the drug received. The side effects, after all, were not largely the drug's fault; most of time, the people who suffered from the severe effects of Viagra who those who were not permitted to take the drug or those who have weak bodies but insisted on taking Viagra on a larger dosage then prescribed. This is not to say that Viagra really is side effect-free -- it isn't. Headaches, flushing, and even hypotension and priapism are some of the reported side effects of Viagra (the severe ones, like the last two mentioned, are rare occurrences). Side effects are commonplace in drugs like Viagra and taking simple precaution eliminates the risk of these severe effects from happening.

Because of Viagra, the research and development of other medicine against erectile dysfunction took place. Now, there are more concrete statistics about men and male impotence. Before, impotence is an unspeakable topic for men. However, after Viagra was released, people have begun to understand that it is a normal condition and is easily curable. Even the issue of female sexual dysfunction was opened up due to the release of Viagra. And because of the clamor of men for Viagra, women are now demanding for a drug that cures their sexual deficiency, a demand that will probably be answered due to current extensive research on the matter.

Clearly, that little blue pill called Viagra as a opened a lot of doors in the area of sexual dysfunction, leading to the development of treatment -- medical and otherwise -- to this age old problem.