Does Cialis help with bodybuilding or running?

No label says it does. Tadalafil is approved for erectile dysfunction and for the urinary symptoms of an enlarged prostate, and the Australian leaflet is plain: "Do not take CIALIS to treat any other complaints" (Cialis consumer medicine information). Two of its most common side effects are back pain and muscle aches, and they become more frequent at higher doses (tadalafil label). In Australia tadalafil "can only be supplied to Australians with a prescription" (TGA). What the studies behind the gym claims looked at: does Cialis have benefits for bodybuilding? and is Cialis useful for running? Exercising after a dose is a separate question, answered in our guide to lifestyle and ED.

Does Viagra thin the blood, or make haemorrhoids bleed?

It is not a blood thinner, but its label is careful about bleeding. In laboratory tests with human platelets, sildenafil strengthened the anti-clotting effect of another medicine, sodium nitroprusside; there is no safety information for men with bleeding disorders or an active stomach ulcer, so they are given it only after a careful weighing of benefit and risk. In studies with the blood thinner warfarin and with aspirin, sildenafil showed no significant interaction and did not add to aspirin's effect on bleeding time (sildenafil label). The question in full: does Viagra thin the blood?; with a prescribed blood thinner: can you take Viagra while on warfarin or another blood thinner?

Haemorrhoids are not mentioned on the labels. The bleeding the sildenafil label does list includes nosebleeds and blood in the urine (uncommon) and, rarely, bleeding from the penis or blood in the semen (sildenafil label); the Australian leaflet asks you to call your doctor straight away about bleeding from the nose (Viagra consumer medicine information). See can Viagra make haemorrhoids worse or cause bleeding?

What happens if a child or teenager takes Viagra?

It is not for anyone under 18; if a child swallows a tablet, phone the Poisons Information Centre on 13 11 26. Viagra "is not indicated for individuals below 18 years of age" (sildenafil label), and Cialis "is not intended for use by children under the age of 18 years" (Cialis consumer medicine information). If anyone may have taken too much, the Australian Viagra leaflet says to phone the Poisons Information Centre, contact a doctor or go to the nearest hospital emergency department, "even if there are no signs of discomfort or poisoning" — and to keep the tablets where young children cannot reach them (Viagra consumer medicine information). The detail: what happens if a child or teenager takes Viagra?; erection problems in young men are covered on our ED and age page.

The one use of sildenafil in children is Revatio, for high blood pressure in the lungs, from 1 year of age, at 10 or 20 mg three times a day, started and monitored by a doctor experienced in that disease (EMA).

Can people with epilepsy or Parkinson's disease take Viagra or Cialis?

Neither condition is on the labels' lists of reasons not to take them, but each comes with a caution. Seizures, and seizures coming back, are among the rare reactions reported with sildenafil since it came onto the market (sildenafil label); seizures are also listed among Cialis's serious side effects, and seizure medicines such as phenytoin, phenobarbitone and carbamazepine may interfere with Cialis (Cialis consumer medicine information). See can people with epilepsy safely take Viagra or Cialis?

Parkinson's disease is one of the nerve conditions that can cause erectile dysfunction (healthdirect). The sildenafil label singles out a rarer disorder, multiple system atrophy with severely impaired control of blood pressure, as more sensitive to sildenafil's blood-pressure-lowering effect (sildenafil label). More in can Viagra be used for ED with Parkinson's disease?

Can men with HIV take Viagra?

HIV itself is not on the labels' lists; some HIV medicines are. The Australian Viagra and Cialis leaflets both name the protease inhibitors ritonavir and saquinavir among the medicines that may interfere with them (Viagra and Cialis consumer medicine information). Ritonavir raised sildenafil levels elevenfold, so the pair is not advised and sildenafil should never exceed 25 mg in 48 hours alongside it; with saquinavir and other medicines that slow its breakdown, a 25 mg starting dose should be considered (sildenafil label). See can HIV patients take Viagra?; all the interacting medicines are on Viagra and Cialis with other medicines.

Is sildenafil safe with liver disease or cirrhosis?

Not with severe liver disease; with milder liver disease, at a lower starting dose. Severe liver disease rules sildenafil out. In men with mild to moderate cirrhosis, the body cleared it more slowly — exposure rose by 84% — so the label suggests starting at 25 mg (sildenafil label). Tadalafil is taken at 10 mg with liver disease (Cialis consumer medicine information), and vardenafil is ruled out with severe liver disease (EMA). With any of the conditions on this page, the doctor who prescribes chooses the medicine and the dose. The question in full: can Viagra affect liver function in liver disease or cirrhosis?

Can sildenafil treat pulmonary hypertension or COPD?

High blood pressure in the lungs, yes — as a different product, Revatio; COPD is not an approved use. "Sildenafil (under another trade name, Revatio) is used to treat pulmonary arterial hypertension (high blood pressure in your lungs)" (healthdirect). There, "sildenafil widens the blood vessels of the lungs, which lowers the blood pressure and improves symptoms"; adults take 20 mg three times a day (EMA Revatio overview). How it works: can sildenafil be used to treat pulmonary hypertension, and how does it work?; the two products side by side: Revatio and Viagra compared.

The two are not combined: Viagra with Revatio or any other sildenafil product has not been studied and is not recommended (sildenafil label), and healthdirect says people being treated for pulmonary hypertension should not take sildenafil (Viagra). Riociguat, another lung blood-pressure medicine, must never be taken with it (Viagra consumer medicine information). For other lung conditions, neither Viagra nor Revatio is approved: can Viagra benefit lung function? and can Viagra be used safely with COPD?

Does Viagra lower blood pressure in men with hypertension?

A little, and briefly — it is not a blood-pressure treatment. After 100 mg, lying-down blood pressure fell by 8.4/5.5 mmHg on average at its lowest; almost a third of the men in the sildenafil trials had high blood pressure, and 68% of them reported better erections (sildenafil label). Blood pressure that "is unusually high or low or is not effectively treated" rules it out (Viagra consumer medicine information). See what does Viagra do to blood pressure in men with hypertension?; heart rate and blood pressure in general are on Viagra's side effects and risks, and blood-pressure medicines on ED medicines and health conditions.

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