Many years have passed since the first phosphodiesterase-5 inhibitors saw the light. This inspiring discovery has given millions of men with erectile dysfunction (ED) hope for joyful sexual life. Nowadays, ED medications like Viagra, Cialis, and Generic Levitra are among the most commonly prescribed and abused medications. An increasing number of men use erectile dysfunction(ED) drugs for recreational purposes.

It appears that lots of healthy men who do not suffer from any problems with erection turn to these drugs in search for more striking sexual experience and prolonged erection. But, erectile dysfunction drugs are meant to be used only by those men who have problems with achieving and sustaining erection. Like any other medication, they have contraindications and may provoke side effects (rare, but still!).

Therefore, medical specialists warn healthy males against using these drugs recreationally – they should see a doctor first. Such drugs can be easily misused if a person is not aware of their dangers. There are certain health risks associated with the recreational use of ED medications:

– Have an adverse effect or drug interaction. These drugs are very dangerous for those men who have heart disease or who are taking high blood pressure drugs, alpha blockers for benign prostatic hyperplasia or nitrates. Rarely, side effects can be serious. It’s important to talk to a doctor before taking any ED medication.

– Become psychologically dependent on the medication. A study suggests that the recreational use of Cialis (Tadalafil) and other drugs of this type can result in lower confidence in initiating and holding erection without them. Men who take ED medications recreationally can also develop unreasonable expectations about their sexual performance. All these might make a man psychologically dependent on pharmacologically induced erections and consequently lead to psychogenic erectile dysfunction.

– Development of actual ED. Recreational use of these medications can mask the decrease in sexual function, so one day a man might be very surprised to find out that he cannot get erection naturally anymore.

PDE-5 drugs are great for men who have been diagnosed with Erectile Dysfunction, but even spokesmen for the manufacturers of these drugs acknowledge that they should not be used recreationally by those who do not have such diagnosis.