Walgreens is one of the best-known and trusted brands in the country when it comes to over-the-counter (OTC) medications, offering thousands of options that can be used to treat common ailments. However, although the company boasts a wide variety of OTC products, its selection of herbal medications is rather limited.
The brand mostly offers plant-based products, many of which are highly effective at treating erectile dysfunction and other sexual problems; however, the range is somewhat restricted when you compare it to other well-known OTC drugstore brands, like CVS and Wal-Mart.
CVS: Comprehensive Sexual Health Kit
The sexually-related products offered by CVS are truly comprehensive, including a variety of creams, gels, sprays, and pills that can be used to treat different problems and issues. While Walgreens has previously marketed a number of OTC ED treatments, including Viagra and Cialis, CVS continues to expand its selection of ED medications, adding a new product every few weeks.
You’ll find every possible solution for ED in the CVS sexual health kit, from generic drugs like sildenafil and vardenafil to more luxurious items like prostaglandin E1 (PGE1) and yohimbine. Several of these options are available in both oral and topical forms, and many products can be used to treat multiple problems, including ED, low libido, and erectile dysfunction with diabetes.
Walgreens: Generic Choices
Walgreens also offers a wide variety of generic medications, with most items being available in both oral and topical forms. For instance, you can purchase sildenafil citrate, which is used to treat ED and pulmonary hypertension, as well as the more common form of sildenafil, sildenafil citrate, at a greatly reduced cost.
The benefit of using generics is that you know exactly what you’re getting, as opposed to an OTC medication that might contain a different (and unnamed) ingredient. When buying OTC medicines online or at a smaller drugstore, it’s extremely difficult to determine what each product actually contains, so you’re putting your health at risk by using these types of medications.
Wal-Mart: Limited Selection Of Sexual Health Products
Finally, we have Wal-Mart, the king of all retailers when it comes to selling OTC medications and other healthcare products. This behemoth, which owns more than 650 drugstores and operates more than 750 retail pharmacies across the country, offers a rather limited selection of OTC products, mostly focusing on erectile dysfunction and premature ejaculation. While its variety of ED medications range from inexpensive generic options to highly-priced name brands, like Cialis and Levitra, the company is not exactly known for having the most effective or innovative products.
If you want to purchase ED treatment from Wal-Mart, be prepared to spend more money than you would at a smaller drugstore or online retailer. Not only do you have the choice of several different branded options, but you’ll also notice that the cost of each medication is higher at Wal-Mart. Furthermore, although the variety of oral and topical solutions for ED is rather impressive, the selection is rather small, considering the size of the company.
What Type Of Person Uses These OTC Medicines?
Considering this type of medication is intended for people who do not require a prescription and are looking for a convenient, on-the-go option, you’d expect any user to be young and healthy. However, as we mentioned above, many of these products have fairly significant side effects that need to be taken into consideration, especially when using them on a long-term basis. Even if you’re in excellent physical health and no one in your family has ever had a heart attack or other significant ailments, you should still know better than to take these types of medications, as they may not be what you think they are.
Furthermore, although the products are intended as safe and effective alternatives to expensive prescription medications, many of these options are still considered investigational and have not been thoroughly tested or approved by the FDA. As such, they are not supposed to be taken by anyone other than a patient who is under the care of a physician. Since they are OTC medications, this type of restriction does not apply.
Are These OTC Medicines Worth Using?
Taking into consideration all the negative aspects (mostly concerning side effects) the above medications and other related products have, it’s rather tough to recommend them, let alone say they are completely safe and effective for everyone. In fact, although many people consider these types of medications to be a cheaper and a more convenient alternative to branded prescription medications, there are multiple reports of patients experiencing significant side effects after using them for various medical conditions. Moreover, while they are often effective in the short term, there is also plenty of evidence that many patients continue to experience problems after using these products for some time.
Even if you’re not experiencing any significant side effects, the fact that these products are not FDA-approved for certain medical uses puts your health at risk, considering they are not prescribed for these uses and have not been thoroughly tested for them. Ultimately, if you’re not sure what a product is or how it will affect you, you should probably avoid this category of medications altogether.