You can’t help but notice it. There you are in the queue at the pharmacy and right behind the Sales Assistant, bold as brass, is Viagra.
Yes folks, you can now buy one of the world’s most famous drugs right off the chemist shelf.
It’s hard to know what to make of it. When you first see that big packet of Viagra on the shelf (and the chemists are not shy at marketing it), you instantly look away because you don’t want the Sales Assistant to catch you looking at it, after all she will only think you are thinking about buying a packet. If she does think you are going to buy a packet, then what is she now thinking about you?
It’s a bit like condoms. Remember the days when you were (much) younger and you ended up buying ten packets of headache tablets because you couldn’t ask that gorgeous Sales Assistant for an infamous packet of three?
Well, that’s how Viagra looks on that chemist shelf.
Everyone has heard of Viagra. Everyone has heard of condoms. But not everyone has the balls to buy them.
I cannot say I have attempted to buy Viagra off the shelf. But I can’t help but wonder if the Sales Assistant is going to ask you if you have used them before. You know, the same thing they ask when you buy indigestion remedies.
If you say yes, then presumably she just gives you them. But that’s the point, if you say yes, then you have just told her you have erection difficulties. I wouldn’t mind her knowing that I have stomach ache, but impotence? No thank you!
I suppose that many will be tempted to try Viagra just to see if they can get a harder erection, or still get it up after ten pints on a Saturday night. It’s there, it’s tempting, and many will be tempted.
Some might say that the fact that Viagra is available without prescription will ease the burden on family Doctors. Impotence affects thousands of men and Viagra can and does help many of them.
However, self diagnosis is something we should all be careful of. As men we don’t visit Doctors anyway unless we really have to. The first time we start experiencing erection problems it is tempting indeed just to pop a Viagra from the chemist. Often, impotence is a sign of an underlying illness that should be investigated.
So a word of warning here. If you have suddenly started to struggle with your erections, get in touch with either your Doctor or a clinic with Moorgate Andrology specialists. They can properly assess what is going on and they can make sure that there is nothing else that requires more urgent attention.
At the end of the day all you may need is that magic pill on your local chemists shelf, but don’t put your health at risk by guessing your diagnosis. Seek help the first sign you have that your best friend is no longer reaching for the sky.
