What is Viagra?
Viagra is a small, blue, easy-to-swallow tablet for erectile dysfunction. Its active ingredient, sildenafil citrate, works by loosening blood vessels and increasing blood flow to the penis. It’s a tablet you take ‘on-demand’ (when you need it), which starts to work in 30-60 minutes and lasts for up to four hours (so you don’t need to rush things).
Is there a generic Viagra?
Yes. There’s a non-branded version of Viagra called Sildenafil. This means that while only one company makes and markets ‘Viagra’, lots of different companies make generic Sildenafil.
When Pfizer launched Viagra, they gave the tablets a unique appearance: a now-famous blue diamond. Generic Sildenafil pills don’t have the same distinctive look as Viagra pills, and often just take the form of a conventional white, round tablet.
But don’t be put off by the ‘blander’ appearance. Sildenafil, or generic Viagra, comes in the same doses as Viagra, contains the same active ingredient, and works in exactly the same way. The key difference is the price: Viagra costs more than Sildenafil because it’s a branded name. So if you want to spend less on your ED treatment, Sildenafil could be the one for you.
We carry both generic Sildenafil and branded Viagra, so you can choose whatever’s best for your budget.
How does Viagra work?
The short answer:
The drug in Viagra, sildenafil citrate, dilates blood vessels at the entrance to the penis. This helps blood flow into your penis more easily, so you can get firmer erections that last for longer. You’ll still need sexual stimulation to get an erection, though – increasing blood flow into the penis won’t give you an erection if you’re not aroused.
The long answer:
When you’re sexually aroused, your brain sends signals to vessels supplying the penis to open them up. This lets blood through into the penis, and fills up a stretch of tissue called the corpus cavernosum. It’s a bit like a sponge, and when blood flows into it, it gets full and stiffens up – and this is what gives you an erection. At the same time, the brain tells other vessels near the penis to tighten up, to keep blood in this sponge tissue – and this is what makes an erection last.
When men get erectile dysfunction, it’s because blood can’t flow into the penis very well, or it flows out again too easily and doesn’t build up the pressure required to cause an erection. This can be because the signals telling blood vessels to open up aren’t working very well, or because there’s a circulation problem stopping blood moving around the body properly.
Sildenafil citrate is called a PDE5 inhibitor because it blocks an enzyme (PDE5) that tightens up blood vessels. By stopping this enzyme, the drug allows better blood flow into the penis, meaning better erections. But without sexual arousal, this improved blood flow won’t ‘force’ an erection.
Stopping your blood vessels from tightening can cause your blood pressure to drop slightly. This is completely safe for most people, but if you already have low blood pressure, or you’re taking medicine to treat high blood pressure, you should speak to a clinician before using Viagra.