What You Need to Know About Viagra and Booze
About one-third of grown men will have erectile dysfunction (ED) at some point in their lives. At some point, many of these men will turn to ED prescription drugs like Viagra to help them. Every drug has some side effects and advice about what to do if you drink booze while taking the drug. Because Viagra isn't a daily pill, it doesn't build up in the blood. This means that the side effects go away as the drug leaves the body.
Side effects that often happen when you mix Viagra and alcohol
Headaches
Most people who take Viagra or other medicines for ED get headaches. This is because ED drugs work by making your blood vessels bigger so that more blood can flow through them. This doesn't just happen in the penis. It happens all over the body. About 25% of the guys who take Viagra get headaches.
Skin That's Red
Because the skin on the face is thin, about 10 to 19% of people who take Viagra get red around their lips, cheeks, and forehead. The redness goes away as the medicine wears off.
Having a stuffy nose
Between 4 and 9 percent of guys who take Viagra end up with stuffy noses. Like headaches, this is caused by blood vessels getting bigger, which makes it hard to breathe through the nose.
The Muscle Hurts
Men who take Viagra have also said they have back pain and joint aches. Two to four percent of men who take Viagra feel mild pain or pain that is more visible in a certain place, like the lower back.
Mild dizziness or vision problems
Some men get a little bit dizzy when their blood vessels get bigger, especially when they stand up quickly. This is because their blood pressure drops a little bit. As soon as your body gets used to the medicine, the feeling of being dizzy goes away. When it happens to guys with heart disease or high blood pressure, this quick drop in blood pressure can have long-term effects that are very bad for their health.
With higher amounts, Viagra can cause eye problems like blurred vision, seeing things that aren't there, and sudden loss of vision.
Feeling queasy or sick
The smooth muscle in the penis starts to relax, which makes the blood flow in the penis go up. The lower esophageal sphincter, which separates the stomach from the esophagus and stomach, also has smooth muscle. When this muscle softens, a little bit of stomach acid could move up into the esophagus and cause heartburn or GERD.
Two to three percent of men who take Viagra feel sick right after each dose, but the feeling goes away as the drug wears off.
If you drink alcohol while taking Viagra, the bad side effects may get worse.
If you drink too much alcohol, it can hurt your health in a number of ways, such as making you confused or unable to think clearly, giving you an uneven heartbeat, and raising your blood pressure.
Even though it's not advised to drink alcohol while taking Viagra or other medicines for erectile dysfunction (ED), drinking a small amount (up to two cans of beer or two glasses of wine) on nights you plan to take Viagra probably won't hurt you. As with other ED drugs, the biggest risk of taking Viagra and alcohol is that alcohol narrows blood vessels while Viagra widens them. This means that alcohol may cancel out the benefits of the drug. If a man drinks more than usual while taking Viagra, he is also more likely to get headaches.
Some drinking drinks can also make some of the side effects of Viagra worse. For example, if you are sensitive to gluten, drinking beer while taking Viagra could make your face redder. Grapefruit juice-based drinks like Greyhounds, Palomas, Brown Derbies, Sea Breezes, and some margaritas and mojitos boost the bioavailability of sildenafil, the active ingredient in Viagra. This makes the benefits and side effects of Viagra worse, so you should avoid drinking these drinks while taking Viagra.
Putting Viagra and alcohol together can make Viagra less effective.
Other things happen to the body when you mix Viagra and alcohol, which could make the drug less effective. Too much alcohol can cancel out the effects of Viagra, making it harder to get and keep an erection when you're excited (which is why you take the drug in the first place) or even causing erectile dysfunction. Alcohol can also lower testosterone levels, which makes you less interested and stops you from getting excited. Abusing alcohol or drinking too much can make a guy more likely to have a heart attack. Taking Viagra at the same time makes this risk even higher.
Before you decide if Viagra or other ED drugs are right for you, talk to your doctor about how much alcohol you drink and what other medicines you take.
Wingman MD
1062 Old Des Peres Rd, St. Louis, MO 63131
13144710069
About one-third of grown men will have erectile dysfunction (ED) at some point in their lives. At some point, many of these men will turn to ED prescription drugs like Viagra to help them. Every drug has some side effects and advice about what to do if you drink booze while taking the drug. Because…