Prostate Cancer

The treatment is available on private prescription but is expensive at about £9 a pill.

All three drugs are sold widely on the web, with countless sites offering the pills by post.

It is a market that is worrying doctors.

“Erectile dysfunction is a symptom of something else, not an underlying disease,” says Dr Richard Petty of the WellMan clinic in central London.

“If men depend on the internet for their supplies and don't visit a doctor it can disguise all sorts of problems that should be investigated.

There is a close relationship between ED and vascular problems, particularly blocked arteries.

There are also other drugs that react dangerously with PDE-5 inhibitors, and taking the two together could kill.

There is no guarantee of the quality or strength of the pills and they are usually very expensive.” Alternatives Since 1994, men have had the option of injecting a drug called alprostadil into the penis to achieve an erection.

It works by relaxing the muscles in erectile tissue, which allows blood to flow more easily into the penis.

Although it is effective, unsurprisingly many men feel the cure is worse than the disease.

A system called MUSE is a less daunting prospect since the same drug is administered as a pessary via a special applicator into the urethra – the tube through which...

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