It is one of the most famous pills on Earth, and its backstory sounds like a bad joke. A failed heart drug, a side effect that turns the world blue and a hamster experiment that won a prize are all real. Here are three true Viagra stories that sound made up.
1. Wasn't Viagra supposed to be something else?
Yes, and the surprise side effect was erections. Pfizer discovered the compound in the late 1980s while looking for a treatment for angina, the chest pain caused by heart disease.
In early 1990s trials, the drug's effect on the heart's arteries was real but far too weak to justify going on. Meanwhile, erections turned out to be a common side effect in the early multiple-dose study.
That observation pushed researchers toward pilot studies in erectile dysfunction. The FDA approved Viagra for that purpose in March 1998, and a flop for hearts became a blockbuster.
2. Can Viagra really change what you see?
It can. Some users report a blue-green tinge to their vision, which is usually temporary. Color vision disturbances were among the main dose-related side effects in the trials.
Rarer problems exist too. Sudden vision or hearing loss is extremely rare, but anyone who notices it should contact a healthcare provider immediately.
Aviation took notice. In 1998 the FAA advised pilots to wait six hours before flying, because blues and greens in cockpit lights could be hard to tell apart. Flight doctors joked, "Six hours from Viagra to throttle." The FAA's current guide for medical examiners lists a wait of 8 hours.
That 1998 warning also described sex in the cockpit as something "not condoned by the FAA, but known to occur." It added that a pilot with heart disease doing so at 5,000 feet could be in real danger.
3. Did scientists really give Viagra to hamsters for jet lag?
They did, and it won them a 2007 Ig Nobel Prize in aviation. Patricia Agostino, Santiago Plano and Diego Golombek of Argentina's Universidad Nacional de Quilmes found that Viagra helped hamsters recover from jet lag.
The hamsters got a small injection, not a pill. Those given the drug adjusted to a shifted light schedule in about 8 days instead of 12. It only helped when the schedule moved earlier, the equivalent of flying east, and gave no benefit when it moved later.
It was a hamster study with no human trials. Golombek suggested the drug might one day make flying safer, since pilots wouldn't be jet lagged. It was Viagra's first appearance at the Ig Nobel ceremony.
