Viagra – myths and facts
Hungarians were having sex 152 times a year, according to a recent international
survey by condom company Durex. Conducted on the Internet, the survey
also showed that Bulgarians had sex about 151 times a year, and Russians
150 times.
Having sex 124 times a year, Australians appeared on the list at
No. 14, below New Zealand (130 times) and the UK (135 times).
The study drew responses from more than 150,000 people around the
world, but surveys on sexual activity always come with some uncertainty
about the truthfulness of participants’ answers.
The people of Thailand, the survey claimed, were the happiest with
their sex lives. Ninety-two per cent of them were happy with their
activities, while 83 per cent of Chinese were also happy. But only
65 per cent of Australians were happy with their sex lives.
Australians rated highly as participants in one-night stands. Sixty
per cent indicated that they had had one. This figure exceeded the
international average by 15 per cent.
Australians also exceeded averages in:
- Phone or e-mail sex (43 per cent compared with 28 per cent).
- Faking orgasm (47 per cent compared with 26 per cent).
- Sex with the boss (7 per cent compared with 3 per cent).
- Sex with best friends’ partner (12 per cent compared with 10 per
cent).
- Sex with someone of the same gender (17 per cent compared with
8 per cent).
This kind or information, although interesting to read, stands open
to criticism: the facts were self-reported on the Internet, and the
survey was conducted by a company that makes condoms.
Also interesting is to try to sort out fact from fiction in terms
of sexual performance, and some of the treatments now available for
erectile dysfunction. This term (erectile dysfunction) is now used
to describe what we once called impotence. New importance has surrounded
this condition since the release of Viagra (sildenafil).
Erectile dysfunction may be the first sign of associated medical
conditions, such as hypertension and heart disease, so it is of serious
interest to the medical profession. Before its release in Australia,
Viagra – and treatment for erectile dysfunction – became the focus
of myth-makers. Internet claims of some of the benefits were unbelievable.
In Australia now, three main oral therapies for erectile dysfunction
form a group of drugs called phosphodiesterase-5 (PDE5) inhibitors
(sildenafil [Viagra], tadalafil [Cialis] and vardenafil [Levitra]).
They inhibit the PDE5 enzyme that leads to an increase in cyclic
GMP (cGMP) levels in the corpus cavernosum in the penis and relaxes
smooth muscles leading to erection. Apomorphine is an alternative
medication taken under the tongue and works by the hypothalamus in
the brain involved in the initiation of an erection during sexual
stimulation. Other recommended treatments include injections into
the penis, vacuum devices and surgical implants.
PDE5 medications have been shown to be the most effective, with claims
of 60 per cent accepted success.
Issues about the safety of these medications have arisen because
the enzyme PDE5 is found in the brain, heart and lungs, and sometimes
causes a heart-rate increase, reduced blood pressure and interaction
with other medications. The safety needs to be considered with medical
advice, but the original concerns about the use of these medications
have not been as major as first thought.
Similar enzymes occur in different parts of the body (PDE6 in the
eyes) and so the colour change noticed by some people using Viagra
comes from the effects on the retina. The effect of these treatments
comes after sexual stimulation causes the release of the enzyme and
allows the medication to work. Stories of erections before stimulation
are exaggerated – there needs to be the initial interest.
Viagra and Levitra have a shorter time of action (up to 12 hours).
Cialis has longer half-life, with the ability for erections 36 hours
after taking the medication.
