Pharmacy knowledge base
Health guides & medicine information
Plain-English explainers from our pharmacy team — what the medicines do, how the strengths differ, and how to use them safely.
Showing 49–60 of 445 guides
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Antidepressants killed your sex life? The 2026 evidence on fixing it without quitting
Summary: sexual side effects on antidepressants are the rule, not the exception — 2025 studies found ~85% of men on SSRIs report some sexual dysfunction. The evidence-backed fixes: sildenafil beat placebo for antidepressant-induced ED in randomised trials, and the British Society for Sexual Medicine's 2025 position paper now supports daily low-dose tadalafil 5mg. Never stop your antidepressant abruptly — this is a solvable side effect.
19.5 million fake ED pills seized: how to make sure yours are genuine
Summary: the UK's MHRA revealed in February 2026 that it seized ~19.5 million doses of illegal ED medicines in five years — 4.4 million in 2025 alone — and Interpol's 2026 operation across 90 countries seized millions more. Lab analysis found everything from no active ingredient to amphetamines. Here's exactly how the fakes reach buyers, and the five-point checklist that separates genuine generics from garage-pressed pills.
ED is your heart's early-warning light — what the Viagra pioneer wants you to know
Summary: Dr. Irwin Goldstein — lead author of the original 1998 Viagra trial — calls ED 'the canary in the coal mine' for heart disease: erection problems typically precede cardiac symptoms by about three years, and most men who have heart attacks had ED first. The 2024 Princeton IV consensus he co-authored says every man with unexplained ED deserves a cardiovascular check — and confirms PDE5 inhibitors are heart-safe, with nitrates the one absolute no.
Viagra not working? It might be desire, not blood flow — the honest checklist
Summary: sildenafil amplifies an arousal signal — it can't create one. When the pill 'stops working', the usual culprits are missing desire (stress, low mood, relationship distance), genuinely low testosterone (which blunts the pathway sildenafil relies on), or simple usage errors. The UK's private-TRT boom is mostly overdiagnosis — Imperial College's Prof. Jayasena says most men buying private testosterone 'just don't need it' — so run this checklist before spending on either more pills or hormones.
Which ED pill works best? What the newest 2026 research actually shows
Summary: a June 2026 network meta-analysis from the University of Rome Tor Vergata compared on-demand ED pills head-to-head across double-blind trials — and the honest answer is that sildenafil and tadalafil are both highly effective, with the real choice being about timing (4–6h vs up to 36h), side-effect profile and price, not raw strength. Higher doses aren't 'better', and the pill that works best is the one matched to how you actually live.
Europe's record heatwave and your sex drive: what heat really does to libido
Summary: Europe's record 2026 summer — 45°C in France, Barcelona's hottest day in 112 years — is genuinely bad for libido in the short term: heat stress disrupts sleep, raises fatigue and suppresses the hormones desire runs on. Yet holidays reliably improve sex (52% of Britons report their best-ever sex away from home). The difference is recovery: cool sleep and low stress flip heat from libido-killer to aphrodisiac backdrop.
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When your partner has ED: what the research says actually helps (and what makes it worse)
Summary: ED is a couple's condition — 79% of women have experienced a partner losing his erection, communication collapses in 71% of affected couples, and partners of men with ED are measurably more likely to develop sexual difficulties of their own. The research-backed playbook: it is almost never about you, blame is the single most damaging response, joint doctor visits work, and therapists' most reliable tool — sensate focus — is designed for two.
How to stop premature ejaculation: what actually works
Summary: premature ejaculation is common and very treatable. The evidence points to a combination — the studied medicine dapoxetine, behavioural techniques (stop-start, squeeze, pelvic-floor training), and reducing performance anxiety. Korean clinical research confirms medicine plus technique works best.
Premature ejaculation: causes, types and treatment options
Summary: premature ejaculation has both psychological and biological causes and comes in lifelong and acquired forms. Treatment matches the cause — dapoxetine, behavioural techniques, treating any underlying ED, and addressing anxiety. Korean epidemiological research maps its prevalence and risk factors.
Dapoxetine for premature ejaculation: how it works and how to use it
Summary: dapoxetine is the first medicine developed specifically for premature ejaculation — a short-acting SSRI taken 1–3 hours before intimacy that meaningfully increases time to climax. Here's how it works, the dose, side effects, interactions, and how it's combined with sildenafil.
Erectile dysfunction in your 30s and 40s: causes and what to do
Summary: ED in younger men is more common than most realise and is often driven by stress, anxiety, lifestyle and sometimes early vascular changes. It's very treatable — but because it can be an early health signal, a check-up matters. Korean data shows ED rises steadily with age but affects younger men too.
Can young men take Viagra? Safety, effectiveness and honesty
Summary: yes, younger men can take sildenafil safely if they don't have contraindications (nitrates, certain heart conditions) — but if ED is anxiety-driven, addressing the cause matters more than the pill. Here's the honest guide to whether, when and how a younger man should use it.