CHECK Ba-Wü #1

POTENCY
VIRILITY
Interview: Bernd Müller
ENGLISH
Since Viagra triumphantly entered the market in 1998, potency enhancers have
been a global bestseller. But do they really work as they are promised? And do
they hold any possible dangers? Werner Schelken, a pharmacist at the Munich
Regenbogen Apotheke clarifies this – and a lot more.
Wenn es um Erektionen
geht, hat man
alles hergenommen,
das aufragt – was
beispielsweise für
Nashörner keine gute
Nachricht war und bis
heute nicht ist.
When it comes to
erections, everything
that stands up was
considered, which
was – and still is – bad
news for rhinos.
Photo: David Clode_unsplash.com
The desire for potency is probably
as old as humanity...
Yes, that’s probably true! Means
for manpower have been
around for centuries – some
work, most don’t. Regardless,
people kept on searching and
investigating again and again
and whatever they came up
with sold well. We pharmacists
have also earned very well from
it over the past centuries.
What substances were available
before Viagra?
Attempts have often been
made to assign nature’s form to
achieve certain effects. When it
comes to erections, everything
that stands up was considered,
which was – and still is – bad
news for rhinos. The so-called
“unicorn powder” made from
the ground horn of the narwhal
was also very well known in the
18th century. And the “Spanish
fly”, a powder made from a
poisonous beetle, is still on the
market. An unpleasant side
effect was that people died if
they overdosed. Even though
the Spanish fly is still sold, it
should be administered as a
placebo because it is now clear
that the original beetle venom
can damage cells.
Let’s look at today: Viagra
came on the market in 1998
– seemingly a breakthrough
then.
Correct. What’s interesting
is that one wanted to treat
heart diseases with the active
substance contained inside it.
In a study, however, the effect
was not sufficiently confirmed,
so it nearly got canceled. The
women agreed, but the men
protested. Why? Because the
active ingredient improved the
men’s potency! In this respect,
the discovery was more of a
by-product, a decidedly profitable
coincidence.
There are now several products
on the market. How are they
different?
In principle, Viagra, Cialis,
Levitra or Spedra all work in
the same way: So-called PDE-5
inhibitors ensure that the
smooth muscles, such as those
found in the erectile tissue, are
filled with blood. All preparations
begin to work after 30–120
minutes and develop their
maximum power after about
3–5 hours. Then they are slowly
flushed out of the body again.
Only with Tadalafil (Cialis) does
the effect last up to 17 hours.
That’s why it sells particularly
well. Although we pharmacists
don’t like it that much, because
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