How Does Viagra (Sildenafil) Work?: 6 Steps Happening In Your Body From Pill To Pillow – Introduction
Viagra, also referred to as Sildenafil, is an ED drug that is used to treat men’s ED with the help of an oral tablet. It is the class of drugs that block the PDE5 enzyme and trigger an increase in the level of the second messenger cGMP molecules in the corpus cavernosum of the penis that produces smooth muscle relaxation, vasodilation, increased circulation, and subsequently an erection. It addresses the linear sequence of steps Surin performs in the body, from the moment a pill is swallowed to its onset.
Step 1: Ingestion
The first step to how Viagra works is the pill. It is usually administered orally, with a glass of water, between 30 minutes and an hour before sex. The standard dose is 50 mg, which the doctor can modify based on how the person reacts and tolerates. When swallowed, the pill breaks down in the stomach and its constituent, sildenafil, is taken up by the bloodstream.
When a Viagra pill is swallowed, it passes through the digestive tract and enters the small intestine. It takes 30-45 minutes to an hour to get absorbed, and about 40% of the amount is absorbed. Sildenafil Citrate has about 41% bioavailability thanks to first-pass liver metabolism.
Step 2: Inhibition of PDE5 Enzyme
Once dissolved in the blood, sildenafil makes its way to the smooth muscle cells of the penis. Sildenafil’s primary target is the enzyme phosphodiesterase type 5 (PDE5), which hydrolyses a chemical known as cyclic guanosine monophosphate (cGMP). It is a chemical necessary for relaxing the smooth muscles of the penis, letting in the blood and giving rise to an erection. Sildenafil – blocking the PDE5 enzyme – lets cGMP run high, resulting in a harder, more consistent erection.
Sildenafil Citrate moves through the bloodstream, interacting with plasma proteins. The protein binding to the drug is approximately 96%, so only about a quarter of the drug is unbound and active. The highest plasma Sildenafil Citrate level occurs about 60 minutes after ingestion. This rate of absorption is influenced by age, liver function, and drugs.
Step 3: Release of Nitric Oxide
One way to fully appreciate the power of Viagra is to acknowledge how important nitric oxide NO is in male libido. NO is a naturally occurring neurotransmitter, a vasodilator, that is, it widens and relaxes blood vessels to promote blood flow to the body’s organs, including the penis.
During the typical sexual reaction, when a man becomes sexually excited, nerve endings in the penis expel nitric oxide. That’s a release that’s almost crucial to an erection starting and continuing. In ED patients, this elaborate mechanism is interrupted: NO release either is too low or it fails to exert its effects.
That’s where Viagra enters the picture. The drug works by inhibiting the enzyme PDE5. Viagra blocks the enzyme PDE5 and increases NO production during sexual stimulation. This increase in NO release is important as it increases the natural capacity to achieve an erection by helping to create the required vascular response.
Step 4: Increased Blood Flow to the Penis
With nitric oxide released, Viagra can accomplish its fourth task: pumping more blood into the penis. Blocking the PDE5 enzyme allows the production of more cGMP-a molecule that encourages the blood vessels to dilate and relax. As the cGMP rises, the vessels of the penis relax and dilate.
This vasodilation causes massive increases in blood flow to the erectic tissues, resulting in engorgement and erection. Again, it should be noted that Viagra does not initiate an erection. It still requires sex stimulation of course; Viagra doesn’t substitute for that – it just speeds up the olfactory response.
Step 5: Maintenance of Erection
Please note, however, that Viagra doesn’t actually give you an erection, it just supports the normal action of getting and holding an erection during sexual stimulation. It begins with NO being released from the penis when sexual stimulation occurs. The neurotransmitter relaxes the smooth muscle in the tissue of the penis, transmitting an inhibitory message to it and letting the blood through. This draws blood to the erectile tissues, producing an erection.
But this biological process is compromised in the majority of men with ED, thanks to factors such as blood supply. This is where Viagra enters the picture. Sildenafil’s primary mechanism of action involves blocking the PDE5 enzyme. It is the enzyme that Viagra inhibits, in turn inhibiting the hydrolysis of the chemical cGMP that relaxes smooth muscles and dilates blood vessels.
This keeps cGMP levels high, which keeps blood flowing to the penis. The effect? We can now maintain an erection, not just an initiation, for an extraordinarily long time. The medication allows men to enjoy better erectile function up until four hours after taking Viagra, when they can go out and have sex with ease.
Step 6: Elimination from the Body
That is how any drug usually functions in the body: no drug performs better than sildenafil. When Viagra has achieved its goal – making blood flow and maintaining an erection- it gets excreted from the body. Sildenafil supposedly has a half-life of about four hours. That is, the second half of the dosage given is excreted during that time.
Sildenafil itself is broken down in the liver and excreted as various metabolites. It is then excreted through kidneys into the blood stream. Users should also be aware that some kinds of food can also have effects on how Viagra works. If taken immediately after food rich in fat because it takes long to be absorbed, it may be less effective.
Conclusion: How Does Viagra (Sildenafil) Work?: 6 Steps Happening In Your Body From Pill To Pillow
In short, Viagra works in stages — in ingesting and digesting, then processing and waking up, ending in an increased blood supply to the penis and producing and maintaining an erection. It’s an extremely powerful substance, though one must never forget that Viagra is a prescription drug and must therefore be taken only under the guidance of a doctor. In addition, it works only with sexual stimulation, and is neither an aphrodisiac nor a low-libido drug. Only when properly taken, then, is Viagra a safe and effective treatment for erectile dysfunction, allowing men to regain their sexual self-assurance and improve their lives.
