Erectile Dysfunction

Think Infomercial Drugs Work? How to Spot a Fraud

Warning about fraud

While health fraud certainly isn't rare, it's especially rampant among products for erectile dysfunction. These frauds can be hard to spot even by sophisticated people because they're often cloaked in scientific terms and promoted by supposed "medical" groups. The Federal Trade Commission offers these tips to help you evaluate claims made on the Internet, in health food stores, or in advertisements.

• If the product is advertised as effective for treating impotence and no physician's prescription is necessary, don't buy it. All effective treatments for erectile dysfunction require a prescription.
• If the product is advertised as a "breakthrough treatment," check with your doctor to see if it is legitimate. Learn More › 

Herbal ED Remedies May Do More Harm Than Good

Cautions about alternative therapies

"Improve your sex life" – that's one of the most widespread promises made by makers of herbal remedies and nutritional supplements. But can they actually deliver on that promise? You may decide to try one of these remedies on the assumption that it can't hurt and might even help, but there are reasons to be cautious.

Alternative therapies that are purported to improve a man's sex life include vitamin E and zinc, ginseng, arginine, saw palmetto, muira puama, and ginkgo biloba, as well as two hormones, melatonin and DHEA. But because these substances have not been studied scientifically for erectile dysfunction, their effectiveness remains unproven. Learn More ›