Have you ever heard that Viagra could help you climb Mount Everest? To answer your question, recently a local Korean newspaper uncovered that the president’s office had made a purchase of 364 Viagra pills for the head of state on the account that it helps to alleviate “altitude sickness.” Even though many Koreas reacted with disbelief, many experts have contributed to this debate and agree that many mountain climbers have been using the product.
Although the role of Viagra has not yet been clinically proven, there is overwhelming evidence from users suggesting that it helps to relieve pulmonary edema while climbing high-altitude mountains. A pulmonary edema is a medical condition that occurs as a result of the accumulation of fluid in one’s lungs. The condition is usually severe to the extent that it makes it hard to breathe and could even be fatal.
Many who suffer from pulmonary edema during mountain climbing are forced to descend before it worsens. However, using Viagra has been reported to slow down the development of pulmonary edema until one climbs lower. What this particular drug does is that it dilates the blood vessels, thereby draining the fluid away from the lungs to restore natural breathing.
The Institute for Altitude Medicine’s website defines that altitude illness can take three different forms. These are pulmonary edema, cerebral edema, and acute mountain sickness. Currently, it is known that Viagra is helpful in relieving both pulmonary edema and mountain sickness. However, there is no evidence that it can be used for cerebral edema.
Additionally, some medical practitioners say that using Viagra hasn’t been proven medically to help. However, Dr. Garth Maker from Australia’s Murdoch University, who’s a biochemistry lecturer, has revealed that from “a molecular mechanism perspective,” the components that make Viagra could potentially subdue altitude sickness, as they are capable of dilating blood vessels and lower blood pressure.
Since the consensus here is that Viagra is a “maybe’ at the moment, use other alternatives that treat altitude sickness if you wish to climb Mount Everest!