Can I Give Viagra to My Girlfriend?
You should not give Viagra to your girlfriend: it is licensed only for men, not approved for women, and no one should ever be given prescription medication without consent.
No — you should not give your Viagra to your girlfriend. Viagra is licensed only for men, it is not approved for women, and giving anyone a prescription medicine that was not prescribed to them is unsafe. Beyond that, no one should ever be given medication without their full knowledge and consent. If a woman is experiencing sexual difficulties, the right step is for her to speak with her own doctor.
Can I give Viagra to my girlfriend?
Viagra (sildenafil) is designed to treat erectile dysfunction in men by improving blood flow to the penis — a mechanism that simply does not map onto female sexual response. Regulators including the FDA have not approved Viagra for use in women, and studies in women have produced mixed, unconvincing results. Because it is a prescription medicine, sharing it is both unsafe and inappropriate: your girlfriend's health history, other medicines and suitability have never been assessed. And the most important principle of all is consent — medication must never be given to someone covertly or without their clear agreement.
Is there a "female Viagra"?
There is no female version of Viagra. The phrase is misleading. A couple of medicines have been approved to treat low sexual desire in women, but they work in completely different ways from sildenafil — they act on brain chemistry rather than blood flow, and they are taken under medical supervision for a specific diagnosis. They are not a "women's Viagra" and are not interchangeable with the pills prescribed to men.
Why men's and women's sexual difficulties differ
Male erectile dysfunction is largely a physical, blood-flow issue, which is why a drug like sildenafil can help — see what causes erectile dysfunction. Female sexual difficulties are more often a blend of emotional, hormonal, relational and physical factors, so they rarely respond to a medicine aimed at the plumbing of an erection. Treating them well usually means looking at the whole picture rather than borrowing a man's pill.
The right approach
If your partner is struggling with desire or arousal, encourage her to see a doctor who can assess her properly and discuss options suited to women. Keep your own prescription to yourself, just as you would not share it because of the safety rules in taking Viagra with a heart condition or the cautions in medications you should not take with sildenafil. Sharing prescription drugs helps no one and can cause harm.
For more on how Viagra works and who it is for, return to our erectile dysfunction and Viagra hub.