Some of the Benefits of Viagra

In early 1998, pharmacy shelves were stocked for the first time with a little blue pill that would shape America’s sex life. Almost twenty years later, prescriptions for Viagra are still going strong. Over close to two decades, health professionals have amassed plenty of anecdotal evidence about the effects of Viagra in relationships.

How Viagra Works

Viagra works by binding to an enzyme called phosphodiesterase, which prevents it from turning another chemical called cyclic guanosine monophosphate (cGMP) into guanosine triphosphate (GTP). As cGMP builds up, artery walls relax, and more blood is able to flow into the penis. When aroused, the brain sends a signal to the penis to turn on the body’s production of cGMP. Notably, the mechanism means that Viagra will only give patients an erection if they are sexually stimulated.

Did you know that cut flowers stay erect longer when their water is dosed with Viagra? With a little Viagra in their vase, flowers can stay erect up to a week longer, doubling their shelf life. But aside from helping your gift of a dozen roses stay impressive longer, what can Viagra really do to improve your relationship?

Within the first few years of Viagra’s availability, some older women in relationships with men of the same age had concerns: in some relationships, women felt that sexuality became intercourse-focused, or that there wasn’t enough effort to address their own desires and physiological needs. Others worried that the beneficial effects of the drug might tempt their partners to enjoy those bedroom benefits outside of heretofore monogamous relationships.

These days, we’re more equipped to talk about what this drug can and can’t do, and we’ve busted many of the myths about Viagra - both positive and negative. Thanks to decades of westerners becoming more willing and able to talk about sex and sexuality with their partners and health professionals, we know more than ever about what makes for a great sex life.

The Effects of Viagra in a Relationship

One of the effects of Viagra that’s most difficult to quantify is it benefits to relationships through improving confidence. Fear of not being able to get an erection gets in the way of healthy sexual self-expression. Conversely, studies show women are more likely to express themselves sexually when they feel desirable. An erection shouldn’t be the only feedback a women gets about her desirability, of course, but for women in long term relationships, it can be exciting to find it a little easier to produce that effect.

Viagra increases erectile function, not desire. This means that your relationship needn’t fundamentally change - a man’s desire for his partner is in no way chemically altered - it’s real desire, no different or greater than before. Over the last two decades, women have become much more practiced in articulating what they want in the bedroom, and the option of an erection needn’t limit the options for foreplay. Instead, Viagra users can initiate healthy (and sexy) conversations around both partners’ desires, and what’s needed to make this new boost to a couple’s sex life fun and rewarding for everyone involved.

If you would like to purchase Viagra online, explore our various generic options in our Viagra store.