Ignorance about Viagra leads to pill-popping public

JAKARTA (JP): Somehow, amid all the publicity about Viagra and the inevitable follow-on jokes about erectile dysfunction, the message about the drug's proper use has become blurred.

Urologist Dr. Akmal Taher from Cipto Mangunkusomo's impotency clinic acknowledged the public's ignorance about its use.

He said some men are mistakenly using the drug for premature ejaculation or to increase their libido, without understanding that it has not been tested for those conditions.

And, despite the warnings on its packaging, Viagra is being sold without prescription over the counter.

The only question asked when a request was made for Viagra at a branch of major drugstore chain in Plaza Indonesia last Saturday was which dosage -- 25 milligrams, 50 milligrams or 100 milligrams -- was needed.

A member of the store's staff acknowledged they sold the drug without prescription but added they usually asked if the person had a heart condition -- although they did not on this occasion.

"It should be dispensed with a doctor's prescription, but we look at the customer first and ask them why they need it if they don't have one," he said.

A healthy male using Viagra without prescription may only have to deal with priapism, or an abnormally prolonged erection. But it may be a potentially lethal combination with nitrate- containing drugs, which are often prescribed for treating heart conditions, Akmal said.

And taking the drug is not merely a matter of physical performance.

"Men may be able to achieve an erection but have a lack of interest and vice versa ... there is no uniform treatment for erectile dysfunction, each man's case must be treated differently," he said.

In the nuts and bolts of the sexual experience, quality should matter more than quantity, he said, and the prevailing focus on male sexual satisfaction in Indonesian society must change.

"It's not just about keeping the man satisfied, but that we should think about our partner, too. And in a marital relationship, it's not only about the physical act of sex but also communication which is so important." (brc)