If you’ve ever wondered about how erectile dysfunction medications such as Cialis vs. Viagra stack up against one another, then you have come to the right place. In this article, we will talk about the major differences in these two drugs, including a brief history of each, their side effects, and cost.

About Cialis

Cialis, also known as Tadalafil, is a PDE5 inhibitor which is ingested through pill form and is marketed exclusively for treating erectile dysfunction. While the drug is also sometimes used for treatment of acute pulmonary arterial hypertension cases, it goes by the name Adcirca when being put to that purpose. It comes in dosages of 5, 10 and 20 milligrams and has been cleared for daily use by the Food and Drug Administration. It is only the third erectile dysfunction prescription to be approved in the United States and comes after Viagra, the first, then Levitra. It is an almond shaped, yellow pill.

About Viagra

Viagra is quite a bit different from Cialis, just on looks alone. Rather than the characteristic almond shape, Viagra is a blue pill with four corners, looking almost like an ellipsis. It goes by the scientific name sildenafil citrate and also happens to be the first drug approved by the FDA for treatment of erectile dysfunction. Like competitors Levitra and Cialis, Viagra works by relaxing muscle walls and encouraging production of cGMP, of cyclic GMPG, a substance which increases blood flow to the corpus cavernosum. While these products might work in similar ways, there are still some striking differences between them.

Side Effects

One of the first big side effects which should be mentioned happens to belong to Viagra. Maybe it’s because the pill has been around longer and therefore seen more widespread use than Cialis, but this particular side effect has received plenty of media attention in the past. Cialis vs. Viagra could come down to this single side effect. People have reported everything taking a blue tint – lots of people. It’s not just an isolated incident and it seems that for some users, a natural reaction to taking Viagra is to see blue. While there are no reported cases of that effect lingering for a measurable length of time, that doesn’t mean it hasn’t happened and silence wasn’t bought.

While vision impairment is listed as a possible side effect of Cialis, it certainly doesn’t make the user see nothing but blue. However, it does have the potential to cause tremulous vision. Also unlike Viagra, which has about a 4 hour half life on average, Cialis has a half life of nearly 17 hours – which means its effects can be felt by the user for as long as 36 hours after taking the medication. While Cialis has a tendency to work harder and for a longer duration of time, Viagra works in ways it does not.

Cost

It might come as a surprise, but the relative cost of both of these medicines is about the same. While some drug companies have a kind of monopoly on what they’re offering, there is plenty of competition in the field of erectile dysfunction treatments and so it’s easy to find either of these medications competitively priced. As always, shopping around with different pharmacies is the best way to get whatever prescription you need for less. As for which of the two is the safer drug for the average user, that seems to be answered already.

Cialis is the only ED prescription medicine which has been approved for regular, low dosage use to treat other conditions besides erectile dysfunction. Its clear ability to ease the burden on overworked arteries and make blood flow throughout the body less restricted has put Cialis in a position to oversell either of its competitors. While Viagra has also been cleared for treating pulmonary arterial hypertension, or high blood pressure in arteries, it must be taken several times a day and the side effects of that can be quite bothersome as well as dangerous. One of these drugs is clearly safer than the other for regular use.

It seems important to note that while both of these drugs tend to work in similar ways, neither should cause an unwanted erection in the user. The initial activation of the NO/cGMP system in the penis requires a bit of hands on treatment, so to speak; without direct stimulation to start things, nothing should start. Cialis and Viagra both work like this and they’re similar in a few other ways as well. Because sildenafil and tadalafil are both ultimately processed by the liver, taking them with an especially rich or fatty meal can actually inhibit the effectiveness and duration of both drugs. As far as Cialis vs. Viagra, neither really wins this one.

That’s because the user is simply giving their body too much to do at one time. Not only will the maximum concentration of the substance within the user’s plasma take longer to reach since it takes longer to break down and absorb, but the user can also expect a significantly lessened concentration of the substance, even at its highest levels. It’s actually a bit surprising how similar all these drugs really are when examined under close scrutiny. They all work about the same way, using very similar ingredients to get similar results. Individual results with each medicine will vary though and that’s probably how all these competitors are managing to stay in business.