Ignorance about Viagra leads to pill-popping public

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)