Does chewing or crushing Viagra make it work faster?

Does chewing or crushing Viagra make it work faster? Not when the tablet is then swallowed: in the studies that measured it, a crushed tablet, or one made to be chewed, reached the same blood levels as a whole tablet. The label says to swallow it whole with a full glass of water (Viagra CMI). The one faster result came from crushing it in the mouth and holding it under the tongue, a different route that can raise blood levels above those the label's doses were set for.

What does the label say about chewing or crushing Viagra?

It says to swallow the tablet whole: "Swallow the tablet whole with a full glass of water" (Viagra CMI). Viagra is a film-coated tablet, not a slow-release one. The label calls sildenafil "rapidly absorbed", reaching its highest level in the blood 30 to 120 minutes after a dose taken on an empty stomach (EMA product information). It gives no instructions or figures for a chewed or crushed tablet. Dissolving it is answered in can I dissolve Viagra in water?, and cutting it in can Viagra pills be split in half?

Does a crushed tablet work faster if you swallow it?

No study has shown that it does. In 18 healthy adults, sildenafil 20 mg tablets crushed and mixed with apple sauce gave the same peak blood level and the same total exposure as the intact tablet (Gao et al., 2015). It used a lower strength than the 25 to 100 mg Viagra tablets, and its abstract does not report how soon the peak came. What it shows is that crushing did not put more sildenafil into the blood.

Does chewing it work faster?

Chewing has been tested only with tablets made to be chewed, and they matched the ordinary tablet. In 60 healthy men, a 100 mg chewable sildenafil tablet and a 100 mg Viagra tablet gave blood-level curves the authors called similar (Yoo et al., 2017), and in a Mexican study two 50 mg chewable tablets matched one 100 mg tablet (Marcelín-Jiménez et al., 2012). Neither tested chewing an ordinary Viagra tablet, which is coated to be swallowed. Chewable products are covered in what is chewable sildenafil, and does it work?

What about crushing it and holding it under the tongue?

That is where the faster result comes from. In 30 Italian men, crushing the tablet in the mouth and dissolving it under the tongue cut the average time to effect from 62.8 to 29.3 minutes, with no difference in how well it worked or in adverse events (De Siati et al., 2003). It was not randomised and had no placebo: every man swallowed the tablet for three months first, then took it under the tongue. The full answer is in can Viagra be dissolved and absorbed under the tongue?

Is there a risk in chewing or crushing Viagra?

The risk is the part of the dose that stays in the mouth. Swallowed, only about 41% of a dose reaches the bloodstream on average, because the liver breaks much of it down first (EMA product information). Sildenafil absorbed through the lining of the mouth can partly bypass that: in two children with heart and lung disease, blood levels under the tongue were 314% to 361% higher than through the gut (Carls et al., 2014). How much chewing adds has not been measured. The label's limits, 50 mg to start and 100 mg at most, once a day, were set for a tablet swallowed whole, and more sildenafil brings more side effects, not a better result: 200 mg "did not result in increased efficacy" (EMA product information). Whatever the route, never take it with nitrates, and an erection lasting more than 4 hours needs the nearest hospital emergency department (healthdirect).

What does slow Viagra down, according to the label?

A heavy meal. "You may find VIAGRA takes longer to work if you take it with a heavy meal" (Viagra CMI); with food, the peak comes about 60 minutes later on average (EMA product information). More in empty stomach or after eating? and the effect of food on Viagra absorption. It also needs arousal: "VIAGRA will work only if you are sexually excited" (Viagra CMI).

What if Viagra takes too long or does not work well enough?

Tell the doctor who prescribes it, rather than chewing the next tablet. The leaflet says that if it does not give you an erection that lasts long enough, "tell your doctor. In these cases, your doctor may decide that you need a higher dose" (Viagra CMI); see 50 mg or 100 mg? and how to increase the effects of Viagra. A form made for the mouth is another thing to ask about: Australia registers sildenafil sublingual wafers (Wafesil, 25 and 50 mg) for erectile dysfunction, on prescription (ARTG 288497); how fast they work is in sublingual sildenafil.

The short answer

Swallow Viagra whole with a full glass of water. Crushed and swallowed, or made to be chewed, sildenafil reached the same blood levels as a whole tablet; the faster start in one small study came from holding it under the tongue, a route the label's doses were not set for. More in our dosage guide.