Viagra, Cialis, Levitra Compare: Prices, Effects, Specifics
Effect duration issues
The most important thing to consider while choosing the erectile dysfunction pills is their duration as this is what they are primary designated for. Viagra, Cialis and Levitra have the same effect, which lies in relaxing your genitalia and increasing the blood flow into it. Note that these drugs do not cause the erection; they help your body reach it in the natural way. Despite their similarity in action, they do not have the same components and they are getting absorbed in a different way. Consequently, the time of their stay in the organism and duration of action varies. The following charts represent the comparison between Viagra, Cialis and Levitra’s time frames of the action onset and the effect duration.
The Cialis manufacturer claims it to last up to 36 hours while Viagra and Levitra show less impressive numbers. Is Cialis indeed so effective or it is nothing more but a marketing trick? Many men claim that they were not able to produce reaction for so long. In addition to that, out of all three, Cialis stays the longest in your body, which actually prolongs its effect. But it might be quite dangerous to the patient especially if the side effects occur or if the man is allergic to it.
Overall, even though Cialis has the longer effect, it is fair to conclude that the winner of the effect duration contest is Viagra due to the fact that it works for up to 12 hours and stays in the body up to 24h. The Levitra keeps the last position here with the shortest result of 6 hours.
The price to pay or what side effects to expect from each drug
Viagra, Cialis and Levitra belong to one group of medications, which is called PDE5 inhibitors. For this reason, the adverse reactions they cause are almost identical. The only noticeable difference lies in the frequency of such an experience.
The most frequently reported side effects include nasal problems, heartache, facial flush, problems with digestion, pain in the muscles and dizziness.
The above presented graphic illustrates with which frequency patients have reported various adverse reactions. The most frequently occurring one is headache while diarrhoea is the least common. Men who had chosen Cialis for treatment experienced its adverse reactions more often than those who had preferred Levitra. Viagra has the smallest rate of undesirable effects.
Intake specifics
So far, the only noticeable disadvantage of Viagra is that it works the best if taken on the empty stomach while Cialis can work well both with food and alcohol. Levitra has a neutral position as it proves to be effective on a full stomach, but its effect is much better without the previous food consumption.
As to Cialis feature to have a good interaction with alcohol, it is rather dubious. On the one hand, it is rather comfortable as you might have a drink on a date before the sexual intercourse. On the other hand, alcohol follows aging as one of the main reasons of erectile dysfunction. So you might not want to risk with that.
Last but not least, Cialis should be taken daily while Viagra and Levitra are recommended for pre-erection usage. This makes you fairly dependent on the drug and might empty your wallet quite a lot.
Availability and recognition
For many people price is probably the main aspect for choosing medications. Our price comparison will be based on the sufficient amount of each drug that should work. The average Australian market prices for the recommended dosages have been gathered in the below represented table.
Drug | Recommended dosage for ED | Price per dose, $ |
Viagra | 50 mg | 3-5 |
Cialis | 20 mg | 23-28 |
Levitra | 10 mg | 2-3 |
These are the prices and dosages for the original drugs. There are also available various generic versions of Viagra, Cialis and Levitra, which are much cheaper but not certified in many countries. In addition to that, their effect has not been studied yet. As to the original drugs, taking into account the effect duration, Viagra seems to be the most lucrative erectile dysfunction treatment option.
Moving up to the next criteria, it is fair to say that Viagra is one of the most widely recognised and popular drugs for erectile dysfunction treatment. The reason for it is that Viagra is the first medication and it was a scientific breakthrough more than 15 years ago. During these years, Viagra has been thoroughly studied by many scientists from various corners of the world and now there is nothing they do not know about Viagra. This is also a huge advantage over Cialis and Levitra, which are new on the market and their effects have not been studied yet. The bar chart, presented below, depicts the most recent quartile sales updates for Viagra and its main competitor Cialis over three years.
Even though Cialis marketing strategy is aimed to promote its products and slow down the popularity of Viagra, the sales data are showing the vice versa effect. Furthermore, no matter how hard they try, Viagra in Australia stays the medication number 1 for erectile dysfunction treatment.
Viagra, Cialis or Levitra: that is the question
Even though each drug should be chosen up to the individual needs, there are some objective criteria that determine the most suitable erectile dysfunction treatment option. Consider the facts, represented in this article and do not let simple promotion strategies influence your decision.