What is Viagra?
Viagra, also known as sildenafil or sildenafil citrate, is a popular medication used to treat erectile dysfunction (ED). Viagra works by improving the blood flow to the penis, so you can get and maintain an erection. Viagra is available both over the counter and on prescription from a doctor.
Viagra is a type of medication known as a PDE-5 inhibitor. These medications prevent the action of a hormone that causes blood vessels to contract, meaning there can be higher blood flow throughout the body. In some cases, this can lead to side effects, including headaches and low blood pressure.
Take an assessment to order Viagra online from £24.95
Can You Take Viagra with Alcohol?
Viagra can be taken with alcohol, but excessive drinking can lead to an increased risk of side effects and may also reduce the effectiveness of Viagra, making it harder to get an erection in the first place.
The effects of alcohol consumption can also cause erectile dysfunction on their own, meaning drinking alcohol may affect your sex life either way.
How Does Alcohol Affect an Erection?
Drinking excessive levels of alcohol can make it harder for you to get an erection. This is called alcohol-related erectile dysfunction.
Alcohol is a depressant drug. This means that it reduces arousal and stimulation in the brain and body. In this way, alcohol can interfere with the systems involved in sexual arousal, erections, blood flow and nerve stimulation. All these systems must be functioning properly to get and maintain an erection. Disruption to just one of these systems can lead to erectile dysfunction.
To get an erection, you must first be sexually aroused. The brain sends these arousal signals to the penis. This causes tissues inside the penis to relax, which allows the blood vessels in the penis to widen and fill with blood. The pressure of the blood inside the penis, makes it firmer and causes an erection.
Under the influence of alcohol, the arousal signals from the brain can be disrupted, which can cause erectile dysfunction. Alcohol also dehydrates you, and dehydration reduces your blood pressure. This means that even if the signals from the brain do reach your penis, you may not have sufficient blood flow for an erection. Lastly, alcohol can also reduce the amount of testosterone you produce which can affect your ability to get an erection.
Fortunately, sexual dysfunction related to alcohol consumption usually stops when you start to sober up. However, long-term alcohol abuse can have a negative impact on your health, which in turn can lead to more permanent erection problems.
Medical advice suggests drinking in moderation is better for your general health – having no more than 14 units per week, spread out throughout the week. 14 units comes in at around 6 pints of beer, or 10 small glasses of lower strength wine. You can check the NHS’s advice on what sort of alcoholic drinks would count as a unit.
What Happens When You Take Viagra and Alcohol?
Studies have shown that consuming a moderate amount of alcohol with Viagra does not have any significant effects on your body. However, as alcohol can make it harder to get an erection, drinking alcohol whilst taking Viagra may cancel out the effects of the drug making you more likely to experience erectile dysfunction.
Another study showed that excessive alcohol use increased the risk of experiencing side effects on Viagra. The most common side effect reported was headaches, but one person did experience severe chest pain requiring further investigation.
This may be related to a combination of factors – sildenafil can cause headaches due to preventing your blood pressure from rising, while alcohol acts to dehydrate you. In combination, this can lead to an increased chance of this particular side effect, and indeed some others may also have an increased chance of occurring depending on the amount of alcohol you have consumed.
Whilst Viagra and alcohol do not directly interact with each other, alcohol may counteract the effects of Viagra and can make you more likely to experience side effects. With this in mind, it is best to avoid drinking excessively on Viagra if you can.
How Long Do You Have to Wait to Take Viagra After Drinking?
As there is no direct interaction, you can take Viagra straight away after drinking alcohol. You do not need to wait for the alcohol to have left your system. However, alcohol can reduce the effectiveness of Viagra and increase your risk of side effects, so it is recommended that you avoid combining the two.
Alcohol can stay in your body for several hours after drinking. In men, alcohol is processed at a rate of approximately 1 unit per hour, but this can be affected by age, weight and anything else you have eaten. If you have been drinking heavily, you may be best waiting for the alcohol to clear your system to avoid increasing your risk of side effects.
Can I Use Other ED Treatments Instead?
In the UK, all prescription drugs licensed to treat ED belong to the same class (PDE5 inhibitors). This means that they are likely to be affected by alcohol in similar ways. These include Cialis (tadalafil), Spedra (avanafil) and Levitra (vardenafil).
Therefore, you should try to avoid drinking excessively and taking any ED medication. However, alternatives such as a penis pump (vacuum erection device) may still be safe if used correctly.
