Sexual Health

Slidenafil

April 30, 2017

551

Sildenafil treats erectile dysfunction by increasing blood flow to the penis during sexual stimulation. This increased blood flow can cause an erection.

Take into consideration that sildenafil does not increase sexual desire

Mechanism of erection:

Erectile dysfunction (impotence) means that the patient cannot get or maintain a proper erection. There are several causes, the most common is due to a narrowing of the arteries that take blood to the penis.

Usage information:

Take sildenafil as needed before sexual activity. The best time to take sildenafil is about 1 hour before sexual activity, but you can take the medication any time from 4 hours to 30 minutes before sexual activity.

Sildenafil doses are 25 mg, 50 mg and 100 mg. If you are taking sildenafil for erectile dysfunction, your doctor will probably start on an average dose of sildenafil and increase or decrease your dose depending on your response to the medication.

You can take sildenafil with or without food. However, if you take sildenafil with a high-fat meal, it will take longer for the medication to start to work.

Before taking sildenafil:

Tell your doctor and pharmacist if you are allergic to sildenafil, any other medications, or any of the ingredients in sildenafil products. Ask your pharmacist for a list of the ingredients.
Do not take sildenafil if you are taking or have recently taken nitrates (medications for chest pain). Nitrates come as tablets, sublingual (under the tongue) tablets, sprays, patches, pastes, and ointments. Ask your doctor if you are not sure whether any of your medications contain nitrates.
Tell your doctor and pharmacist what prescription and nonprescription medications, vitamins, and nutritional supplements you are taking or plan to take. Your doctor may need to change the doses of your medications or monitor you carefully for side effects.
Tell your doctor if you smoke.
Tell your doctor if you have ever had an erection that lasted for several hours, or any other condition affecting the shape of the penis.
Tell your doctor if you have recently lost a large amount of body fluids (dehydration). This can happen if you are sick with fever, diarrhea, or vomiting, sweat a lot, or do not drink enough liquids.
Likewise, tell your doctor if you have heart, kidney, or liver disease, a heart attack, an irregular heartbeat, a stroke, chest pain, diabetes, high or low blood pressure, high cholesterol, a bleeding disorder, blood circulation problems, or blood cell problems.
If you are having a surgery, including dental surgery, tell your doctor or dentist that you are taking sildenafil.

Possible side effects of sildenafil:

Sudden vision loss
Redness in the face
Headache
An inability to differentiate between the colors green and blue
Stomach pain
Ringing in ears and loss of hearing
If you have a painful or prolonged erection lasting 4 or more hours, stop using this drug and get medical help right away, or permanent problems could occur.

Cardiac seizures, stroke, irregular heartbeat and sudden death when using sildenafil are rare and affect men who suffer from cardiovascular diseases.

Side effects vary according to dose and medical condition.

General information:

Keep sildenafil out of children’s reach
Ask your physician in case you need to change doses
Do not take an extra dose without a doctor’s order
Tell all your physicians that you are on sildenafil
Remember sex is a cardio activity, thus in rare cases it develops into chest pain or dizziness. If you experience pain, stop taking this medication and get medical help right away.

If you are taking sildenafil to treat erectile dysfunction, you should know that it does not cure erectile dysfunction or increase sexual desire. Sildenafil does not prevent pregnancy or the spread of sexually transmitted diseases such as human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)