‘Female Viagra’ is coming soon, but what are its implications?

By Gardy Chacha

Nairobi, Kenya: ‘Female Viagra’, the cure for a woman’s lack of sex drive, is in the offing. Experts working with Emotional Brain, a company based in the US and Netherlands, say one of the two versions currently being researched on could be available as soon as 2016.

The drug, which if successful is poised to be phenomenal, is uniquely prepared compared to the male Viagra, as it stimulates both the physical body and the mind of the female user. If ascertained for use by humans, Lybridos, as one has been named, will awaken many women (who had gone ‘dead’ in bed) in the city to renewed pleasures of the body.

Lybridos, the first of the two drugs currently under study, has so far proved effective in trials.

However, health practitioners are saying not so fast! Richard Muraga, a medical doctor at Family Health Options Kenya, talks of unexpected possibilities for women who will be ascribing to the wonder drug.

“The stages a drug takes through verifications and analyses are stringent. If the drug is successfully certified, it will need to be used under a doctor’s prescription just like men’s Viagra,” says the doctor.

The prime reason why men and women exhibit symptoms of low libido or erectile dysfunction, says Richard, is often connected to the person’s psychological state rather than tangible physical problems. These astoundingly accounts for about 80 per cent of all cases of low libido.

The remaining 20 per cent are largely affiliate to the state of health of the person, and diabetes features in majority of the cases.

According to data by the American Medical Association, nearly half the female population (43 per cent) in the world lack sex drive. Many of these women have no problems with achieving orgasms, rather they don’t really desire to have sex and their minds consequently don’t get turned on by the prospect of love-making.

Many experts still maintain that lacking desire for sex – especially among women – is to a great extent caused by non-physiological factors; including a deteriorating relationship with a partner or as the result of a medical condition, or aging which causes change in hormonal levels.

Lybridos is said to increase physiological sexual response through increased lubrication and blood flow to the genitals. Unlike the male Viagra, which just prompts an erection, Lybridos targets brain areas connected to sexual desire. It induces the mind to realign with intimacy.

The pill closely resembles Viagra but even so, Lybridos uses buspirone, which has been an anti-anxiety medication and works by raising levels of the hormone serotonin.

Richard advises though that if the drug makes it to pharmacies, women having libido problems should first seek help from doctors to understand if their problem is psychological or physical.

“Before trying on the drug, it would be better if they try to regain their natural sparkle,” he says.