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Page: << Prev | 1 | 2 Viagra won't make a man who isn't impotent a "sexual superman," Musacchio explained. But it may make him able to have sex more often over a shorter period of time, she added.
"Most of these men, (64 percent) mixed these medications with alcohol, methamphetamine, cocaine and ecstasy," Musacchio said. "Those drugs increase your sex drive, reduce your inhibitions, but may make you less likely to sexually perform. When people mix those drugs with Viagra, they may be able to have sex when they couldn't normally do so. This is of concern for transmission of STDs and unwanted pregnancies."
The men surveyed said they almost never got Viagra from a doctor; 54 percent reported getting the drug from friends or through the Internet.
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"Health-care providers are out of the loop," Musacchio said. "They should be asking their patients if they are using erectile dysfunction medications. And if they are, they should be counseled on the hazards of using these medications with other substances."
One expert agrees that the combined use of Viagra and alcohol and drugs by young men can be a risk for the transmission of STDs.
"It's hard drawing conclusions from one study," said Dr. Ira Sharlip, a clinical professor of urology at the University of California, San Francisco, and a spokesman for the American Urological Association. "If it's true that these medications are being combined with drugs and alcohol and produce risky sexual behavior, then there is an increased risk of undesired pregnancies and sexually transmitted diseases."
Sharlip doesn't think that those taking these anti-impotence drugs are at any risk from them unless they're taking large doses. "I don't see young people coming in with problems related to these drugs," he said.
As far as enhancing sexual performance, Sharlip doubts any effect. "I think that it doesn't do anything to enhance sexuality for young people with normal sexual function," he said. "My expectation is that those who use it once don't use it again."
More information
The National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases can tell you more about erectile dysfunction (kidney.niddk.nih.gov ).
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