Alcohol and Erectile Dysfunction: Doctors Recommend To Drink in Moderation

By  //  November 23, 2018

Christmas is the perfect time to eat, drink and be merry with your friends and loved ones but, if you suffer from erectile dysfunction, it’s important to think carefully about the alcohol you consume, and the impact this may have on your condition and on your ED medicine.

Christmas party season is fast approaching, and most of us are finding our social calendars filling up fast.

Christmas is the perfect time to eat, drink and be merry with your friends and loved ones but, if you suffer from erectile dysfunction, it’s important to think carefully about the alcohol you consume, and the impact this may have on your condition and on your ED medicine.

With this in mind, here’s everything you need to know about erectile dysfunction and alcohol:

Decrease Your Alcohol Consumption

If you are struggling with erectile dysfunction, or want to minimize your risk factors of suffering from the condition, then decreasing the amount of alcohol you consume will definitely help.

Alcohol and recreational drugs can affect your ability to get and maintain an erection in two different ways: firstly, too much alcohol can impair your sexual desire and reduce the amount of interest you have in sexual activity.

Secondly, alcohol consumption can affect your ability to maintain an erection, because your body is too busy processing the alcohol safely to simultaneously spare the blood flow needed to maintain an erection.

Overdoing the booze is one of the most common causes of erectile dysfunction. Alcohol is a depressant and will not only dampen your desire, but it will also make it very difficult for you to reach orgasm.

That doesn’t mean that you have to completely give up alcohol if you enjoy the occasional beer or glass of wine, but medical professionals recommend that, in order not to impede your sexual performance, you only drink alcohol in moderation.

How Do You Define Moderation?

We are often told to drink in moderation, but many people don’t really know what drinking in moderation means. The UK Chief Medical Officers (CMOs) advise that no one should drink more than 14 units a week on a regular basis, in order to drink in a way that would be considered safe.

Fourteen units of alcohol a week is equivalent to 6 pints of lager or ale, 5 pints of cider, or 6 small glasses of wine. It’s important to note that this is the amount of alcohol you should consume over the course of a week, but that doesn’t mean that you should consume this amount of alcohol in one session.

Drinking slowly and limiting the amount of alcohol you drink in any one occasion (aim for no more than 4-5 units a day) will help you to avoid risky situations, maintain your self-control, and prevent your ability to perform sexually from being impaired.

Can You Drink When Taking ED Medicine?

Patients taking a large number of different medications to control their erectile dysfunction should avoid excessive amounts of alcohol consumption. Sildenafil (Viagra), Vardenafil (Levitra, Staxyn), Avanafil (Stendra) and (Cialis) can all lead to problematic levels of low blood pressure when they are taken in conjunction with alcohol.

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If you take these medications in conjunction with alcohol then you may experience a sudden decrease in blood pressure which could lead to symptoms such as a fast heart rate, dizziness, headache and fainting.

For this reason, patients using erectile dysfunction medication are advised to either avoid or significantly reduce their alcohol consumption. The manufacturer of Cialis recommends that its users consume no more than 5 drinks a week, while the manufacturer of Stendra suggests its users consume no more than 3 drinks a week. Other manufacturers do not make specific patient recommendations, so you should consult your pharmacist or doctor for advice.

Less is More

We all appreciate that alcohol can be beneficial in many situations. It can make you feel more relaxed, loosen your inhibitions, and sharing a glass of wine is a great social activity too.

Humans have been taking advantage of the feeling of well-being that comes with alcohol consumption for more than 10,000 years. However, when it comes to drinking alcohol, less is more. This is particularly true if you want to avoid erectile dysfunction.

Unless your doctor specifically informs you not to consume alcohol, a glass or two of wine or a pint of beer won’t cause any damage but drinking any more excessively almost certainly will. Less is more.

Don’t let alcohol get the best of your sex life and negatively impact on the pleasure that you, and your partner, experience when you’re being intimate.

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