Viagra and Cialis: Fight for Men’s Hearts
In the sphere of treatment of erectile dysfunction there are two most popular competing medications: Viagra and Cialis. Men are ready to argue about their properties and effect on thematic forums for hours. It is not strange – what can worry a man more than his intimate health? Maybe only his life, but it is still not so apparently.
So, Viagra and Cialis for already several years have been fighting for the place of the best medicine against erectile dysfunction in men. Of course, the manufacturers of each drug claim that their medicine is the best, but let’s learn together what are the differences between those two drugs, and what are their common sides.
If you read the scientific definition of the concept of “impotence”, it becomes clear that this is a multiple inability to support the erection necessary for sexual intercourse. Hence it becomes clear that Viagra and its analogues, as well as Cialis, operate solely on the blood supply to the penis and have no psychotropic effects. That is, such drugs can improve potency, but they don’t stimulate libido. Although, as psychologists have found out, in some men the desire for sex often comes by itself when their erection is normalized.
Active Substances
The active substance of Viagra is sildenafil citrate. This substance was chemically synthesized by an American pharmaceutical company Pfizer in the early 1990s.
In Cialis the active substance is named tadalafil, it was synthesized by Glaxo Wellcome company in 2003, five years after Viagra was invented, though the researches concerning the efficacy of tadalafil in the treatment of erectile dysfunction began earlier than the researches on Viagra.
These two active substances can seem to be completely different, but in fact they have a plenty in common: they both are phosphodiesterase inhibitors of the fifth type (PDE-5). The mechanism of their action is based on dilating blood vessels in the penis. Blood is absorbed into the cavernous bodies of the penis in large amounts, thus leading to the emergence of a stable erection.
Viagra is sold in the dosage of 25, 50 and 100 mg, while Cialis is available in the only dosage of 20 mg. Both medicines can be taken only once a day.
Period of Action
Viagra starts to act about twenty minutes after it was taken, and the effect lasts for about four or five hours, depending on the features of a man’s organism.
As for Cialis, it can start acting later, for example, an hour after a man took it, sometimes even several hours after the intake, but the whole period during which the drug stays in the organism and influences the erection mechanism is much longer: a man’s potency can be boost for up to 36 hours. This property of Cialis has made it popular to take in cases when a man wants to be sure of his erection not only during an ordinary sexual act, but during a whole marathon.
Interaction with Food
It is known that the period of time after which Viagra starts to act differs depending on the fact if a man had had a square meal or his stomach is empty. In the second case the drug faster absorbs into the bloodstream, and, therefore, its effect becomes pronounced earlier.
As for Cialis, the manufacturer claims that its action doesn’t depend on the amount of food in a man’s stomach. Some gourmets will of course be happy to hear it, but the reviews of real patients show that the dependence exists, although it is less expressed than in case of Viagra.
Side Effects
It is no wonder that men are interested, which are the differences between side effects of Viagra and Cialis.
Patients who take Viagra most often report about distortion of color perception, headache, nasal congestion and redness of the face.
Men who prefer Cialis notice headache, dyspepsia and sometimes back pain. The side effects of Cialis stay for a longer time, but are usually less pronounced.
Contraindications
Viagra is contraindicated in men suffering from heart diseases, uncontrolled hypertension. All these contraindications are inherent in Cialis as well.
Both medications are strictly contraindicated in men taking nitroglycerin in any of its forms.
In the presence of kidney or liver disease the patient should be very careful with the dosage of these medicines.
In any case, only the doctor can decide whether the state of a man’s health allows him to take Viagra or Cialis or no. These medicines are sold on prescription, and it’s better not to try to find any workarounds in order to buy them without prescription.
Price Policy
Original Cialis is usually cheaper than original Viagra, although the difference is not very large. The process of manufacturing Cialis is not so expensive as in the case of Viagra, and it influences the price of the drug in pharmacies. In addition, a lot of funds is spent on advertising campaigns of Viagra, increasing the price of the end product.
Results of the Comparison of Viagra and Cialis
Summing up, we can conclude that Viagra wins in comparison with Cialis. It has a better reputation, it was invented earlier, and in spite of some advantages of Cialis, like a lower dosage of the active substance necessary for the expressed effect of the medicine, more men prefer taking good old Viagra – so called “magic blue pill”.
It proves that sometimes the reputation of a drug is even more important than its clinical properties. Since the very first advertising campaign in which senator Bob Dole was starring, Viagra has become the symbol of a revolution in recovering the intimate sphere of men’s life, and up to now it keeps the flag of the best drug for treating erectile dysfunction.
However, it should be remembered that some problems in the male sexual sphere lie beyond the limits of the possibilities of drug therapy and require other methods of non-drug treatment, so it is impossible to always rely only on the drug. Healthy lifestyle and medical examinations are important for intimate health of each man.