Bart Scott Recommends Viagra For Bills’ Josh Allen To Deal With Cold Feet

This recommendation may be a bit “hard” to follow.

On Thursday’s episode of the ESPN show “Get Up,” host Dianna Russini mentioned how Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen dislikes playing in cold weather due to poor blood circulation to his feet. Such “cold feet” could be a problem this Saturday night when the Bills host the New England Patriots in what’s likely to be a frigid playoff game. So, on the show, former NFL player Bart Scott offered a little blue recommendation for Allen that made others stand up and take notice.

Scott responded with, “Josh Allen listening? Can people get this message to him? VI-A-GRA.” He added, “Take a Viagra before the game, baby. That’ll get that circulation going right.” Yes, Scott said Viagra, the medication known generically as sildenafil, typically used to treat erectile dysfunction. Umm, talk about getting up for a playoff game. The following tweet from “Get Up” includes a video showing this segment in the show:

While “Get Up” may be the name of this morning sports TV show, a Viagra mention probably ain’t too common there. After all, the answer to having a soft run defense or facing stiff competition isn’t typically, “try some Viagra.”

So it’s not surprising that Russini answered with, “I don’t have any medical background. I don’t really have a response to that. But you played. So you must know something.”

This prompted Scott to elaborate, “A lot of us take Viagra. Because Viagra opens up the blood vessels.” Of course, simply saying, “a lot of us take Viagra,” would raise even more questions, so to speak. So Russini interrupted with, “Wait, a lot of us take Viagra. What do you mean?”

So Scott stretched out the explanation further, “A lot of NFL players, at least in my day, took Viagra because it opened up the blood vessels, a lot of endurance athletes. Because Viagra was first a heart medication. So it builds up circulation, which makes sure that you get circulation to the feet.”

Looks like Viagra hadn’t come up during Russini’s previous conversation with Allen. But Russini did add that Allen said he will be “standing next to heaters.”

To that Scott commented, “He’ll be hot.” In this case, Scott was presumably referring to what might happen when Allen stands next to heaters and not if he were to take Viagra.

OK, Viagra, in general, shouldn’t be a replacement for a heater or any other more traditional way of staying warm. Don’t tell your house guests, “we are trying to conserve energy. So instead of running the heater, we’ll be passing out some Viagra. By the way, no sudden movements please.” But was there any hard science behind what Scott said?

Well, Scott was right about Viagra increasing blood circulation to different parts of your body. As I covered recently for Forbes, sildenafil doesn’t cause erections by telling you how great you are. Instead, it inhibits an enzyme called phosphodiesterase. This leads to the build-up of nitric oxide, which in turn causes your blood vessels to dilate or expand. Blood then flows more readily into these expanded blood vessels. When the blood vessels being dilated are in your penis, more blood inside your penis will cause it to stand to attention.

Since sildenafil is not penis-specific, it can dilate other blood vessels in your body, leading to increased blood flow to other areas. This has prompted doctors to try sildenafil for other blood circulation-related issues. For example, they’ve used different versions of sildenafil to treat conditions where the blood flow to your lungs is restricted due to the vessels being too narrow or tight, such as in pulmonary hypertension and altitude sickness. Additionally, researchers have been exploring how sildenafil may help patients with congestive heart failure by dilating blood vessels so that it’s easier for the weakened heart to pump blood through them. Moreover, some studies have suggested that sildenafil may improve blood flow and thus oxygen delivery to your muscles when you are exercising at high altitudes.

Then there’s Raynaud’s phenomenon. This is a condition where the blood vessels leading to your fingers, toes, nipples, nose, or other parts of your body begin spasming. These spasms, which may occur with cold temperatures, emotional upset, or other types of stress, can then reduce blood flow to these areas. The affected body parts like your fingers and toes can then turn pale or even blue. When subsequently warmed, they may become swollen and painful and even develop sores. Raynaud’s phenomenon may have no clear cause or be associated with injuries, repetitive actions, connective tissue problems, autoimmune disease, chemical exposure, cigarette smoking, or certain medications. Studies have suggested that Viagra and Levitra may help alleviate Raynaud’s phenomenon by dilating these blood vessels that are spasming.

This doesn’t mean that you should just try Viagra simply because your feet or hands feel cold. “Studies suggest” doesn’t mean that Viagra and Levitra are established treatments for this condition. Plus, you may not even have Raynaud’s phenomenon. Moreover, Viagra could counteract the naturally constriction of your blood vessels to keep heat from dissipating from your body. More dilated blood vessels could actually allow your body to lose heat faster.

This isn’t the movie The Matrix. Don’t take the blue pill simply because someone told you to do so, even if that person were named Morpheus. Instead, if conventional methods are not keeping you warm enough or your are having particular problems with your hands and feet, contact you doctor. Your doctor can help figure out what may be going on and whether you have some type of underlying condition. Taking Viagra without first consulting a real doctor could leave you pointing in the wrong direction.