Viagra: Uses Other Than Treatment of Erectile Dysfunction

09/6/2008 - Wellness and Diet The little blue pill is known to many as the main treatment for erectile dysfunction, but does the miracle pill have other uses that we are just learning about? Sildenafil is the technical name for the drug is similar to other drugs on the market like cialis and levitra. All work in the same matter and contain most of the same active ingredients and are therefore interchangeable. Each medication may have the same indications, and the same on the label treatments as well as the same side effects. Each medication is important within research for other off-label uses, and many of these indications are in clinical trials.

Consider the research that shows Viagra can cure jet lag! The medication was administered to mice and results were shown to keep the muscles that lined blood vessels relaxed for longer periods of time. The drug inhibits large amounts of the enzyme that is important in depleting chemicals that can interact with many biochemical functions, including regulating the body clock. So, Viagra allows less of the enzyme to be produced, and the body flourishes in the mean time. When mice were treated with Viagra after having reversed light and dark cycles, effects of traveling were improved with the medication.

Contrary to the indications that come with mixing the pill with nitroglycerine treatments, Viagra has shown to have positive effects on those who have suffered a coronary event.

Other off-label uses for the medication include; treating pulmonary hypertension as an on-label drug name “revatio” �" a popular treatment for the treatment of pressure within the blood vessels leading to the lung. Mountain sickness has been treated with Viagra, as well as Raynaud’s phenomenon, which occurs in some individuals where the tiny blood vessels that supply blood to the fingers and toes and then the extremities become cold and numb. Viagra has been used in clinical trials for both of these disorders and has shown thus far to be a success.

Regardless of what the little blue miracle pill is being used for, it is important to be aware of the side effects of the little blue pill. Side effects include; headaches and facial flushing as well as indigestion and other digestive side effects. More serious side effects that may occur and should be reported to a health professional include; chest pains, swelling or redness within one or both eyes, bloody or cloudy urine as well as pain while urinating, prolonged erections, vision changes or difficulty breathing.

The most recent discovery was the use of Viagra in immediate treatment for congestive heart failure. Although one of the most recent discoveries it is being looked upon as promising in new treatment frontiers.

There you have it; Viagra is no longer for uses in the bedroom �" in fact, uses outside the bedroom seem to be growing in research all the time. It is important to take into account, that numerous studies must b completed before Viagra becomes an on-label indication for anything other than erectile dysfunction, but hope is in the future that will hopefully expand the current treatment indication for the little blue pill.