Viagra

Latterns in Hoi An, Vietnam - photo by JoAnn Sturman

Scott Sturman

Viagra is used to treat pulmonary hypertension and vasospasm due to Raynaud’s Disease, and judging from the number of commercials on television, there is an epidemic of men suffering from one of these two diseases.  The guys featured in the adds are exceedingly macho types, sporting Don Johnson beards, and participating in hyper masculine activities.  No couch potatoes here!  Even though their lungs are about to burst, they are always in the company of a comely woman worshiping them with adoring eyes.

The arteries in my friend Jim’s fingers do not like the cold, so when he’s down hilling at Beaver Creek, they become very small and don’t let any blood through them.  His fingers become pale white and painful.  After seeing a Viagra commercial showing men his age extreme skiing in the Alps with some very hot women, he asked his doctor for a prescription to treat his problem.  The physician rolled his eyes and recommended Procardia SL to dilate the symptomatic appendage.

Paul, on the other hand, has an enormous prostate gland which makes his urethra the size of a thread, but medications in the Viagra family when taken in low doses relieve the problem.  When traveling in Southeast Asia earlier this year, he neglected to the medicate himself and developed obstructive symptoms.  In desperation with his bladder holding gallons of urine and nearly ready to explode, he quaffed three full strength Cialis tablets.  The bladder drained, but he spent the better part of the day holding his wife’s purse over his groin while visiting the wonders of Angkor Wat.

While attending a party this last Christmas, I met the husband of one of my wife’s coworkers.  He is a retired colonel who spend years on assignment in Afghanistan.  His adventures piqued my interest, and after a few pleasantries he shared stories about the infamous warlords of the Hindu Kush.  Each is an empire unto himself–shifting alliances to suit his needs, dealing with friend and foe alike in duplicitous ways, and forever engaging in self interest.  What possibly could a United States military officer offer to gain an ear?  Flattery? Money? Weapons?  Guess again! The first request from any warlord was Viagra.

Pulmonary hypertension must affect Afghan warlords just as it does the surfing, muscle car driving male in this country.  Maybe we are all citizens of the world with a lot more in common than we suppose.  I hardly can wait to see a commercial with a war lord sitting in a hot tube with a burka clothed babe at his side ready to treat his pulmonary hypertension. 

I have only one question.  With so many critically ill men in the world, why is a medication which has been on the market for so long still under patent protection?