Female Viagra?

Since Pfizer came out with Viagara in 1998, the hunt for the female equivalent in a pill has in full force; however, the same principle that the little blue pill operates under, increasing blood flow to a vital area for the male, does not work in the same way for a woman.  A condition referred to as H.S.D.D or hypoactive sexual-desire disorder affect 10-30% of women in the age range of 20 to 60.

Supposedly this pill, Lybrido (now seeking FDA approval in the U.S) is to target "the psyche" and not the physical body of the woman to increase sexual desire.  Monogamy is one touted to be one of the major causes of H.S.D.D. or in other words, boredom with the same partner for the long-term.  This brings out the age old question if humans are really "programmed" for a monogamous relationship.   There are arguments for both side of the coin.

Advocates for the pill feel that it could help flailing monogamous relationships especially where the woman feels she is not holding up her end of the bargain or is discouraged by her lack of sex drive.  While medical issues for a low sex-drive should be checked prior to handing out a "magic pill", it could actually help save marriages.

There are those who feel that it will put undue pressure on women to "perform" and make it "wrong" to not have a sex drive.  Not every woman wished for an active sex drive.  There are also people who wonder that if the sex drive is awakened in women who have lived with H.S.D.D for years that it may spike an infidelity trend such as Viagara did especially when the pill first came on the market.

As with everything, there is positives and negatives.  For some this pill may be the answer to save or improve their marriage while for other women, it may just be another pressure to be more sexually active than they desire.  Also that it will put all the pressure on women to "fix" the sexual part of the relationship.   Though it will be interesting to learn the clinical trial results and delve further into the science of how this pill works.  What will the side effects be and long term effects?

Stay tuned...