There is a wide variety of alcohol available today, and while many people enjoy a drink or two on special occasions, it’s not always the most practical choice when needing to get some work done. Besides, when the day is over and you need to be getting home, there are few pleasantries that can bring a co-worker, aside from perhaps shaking hands, than entering a room full of snoring and groping strangers. There are various problems that a person can encounter from combining alcohol with Viagra, some of which will be discussed in this article.
Alcohol Reduces Effectiveness
The first and most critical issue that you need to be aware of is that alcohol dramatically reduces the effectiveness of Viagra. In clinical trials where people had either a drink before taking the drug or where participants drank while taking it, the medication proved to be no more effective than a placebo in solving erectile issues.
If you are taking a drug to improve your erections, you absolutely need to avoid alcohol or any other substance that might interfere with the effectiveness of the medication. This is especially important as Viagra is often prescribed for people with heart disease, so avoiding alcohol might be critical for their health. You should also consult with your doctor or pharmacist about what, if any, other medications you’re taking or plan to take before starting any new medication regimen.
Alcohol Increases Respiratory Depression
While most people take a drink or two before going to sleep to feel more relaxed, alcohol actually has the opposite effect on people with heart disease. In fact, recent research shows that people who consume alcohol are more likely to suffer from sleep apnea, which is a condition where the breathing stops while a person is sleeping.
When your breathing stops while sleeping, it often results in a serious condition called sleep apnea, which in turn can lead to increased blood pressure, heart disease, and even sudden death. People with sleep apnea should avoid alcohol entirely, as it will only make their condition worse. Fortunately, there are effective treatment options for sleep apnea such as the continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) machine, which is usually prescribed by a doctor or dentist. Using this machine at night helps prevent the breathing stoppage and the complications that come with it during the day.
Alcohol Increases Sexual Disorders
Another potential negative effect of alcohol on your health is that it can increase your risk of developing a sexual disorder. As mentioned before, alcohol dramatically reduces the effectiveness of Viagra, so if you want to have a normal erection, you need to avoid alcohol completely. This goes for both men and women. Women who drink alcohol are more likely to develop premature ovarian failure (POF), which is a condition where a woman’s reproductive system suddenly stops working. Men who drink alcohol are more likely to experience impotence, or be unable to achieve or maintain an erection. This is why drinking alcohol reduces the effectiveness of Viagra.
Alcohol also makes you more susceptible to any existing condition or disorder that you might have, as it worsens what is known as the “hidden diseases” that we are not usually notified of during our lifetimes. So, even if you don’t think that you have a hidden disease, it might be best to avoid alcohol until you’re told otherwise by a doctor. The hidden diseases listed below are known to be exacerbated by alcohol consumption:
- Alzheimer’s disease
- Anxiety disorder
- Arthritis
- Asthma
- Barrett’s esophagus
- Brugada syndrome
- Bronchitis
- Chronic obstructed lung disease (COLD)
- Colon cancer
- Congestive heart failure (CHF)
- Dermatitis
- Dysmenorrhea (Menstrual pain)
- Emphysema
- Fatty liver disease (steatosis)
- Gastritis
- Gout
- Graves’ disease
- Hepatitis
- Hepatopathy (liver disease)
- Hypertension (high blood pressure)
- Jaundice
- Liver cancer
- Lung cancer
- Macrocytic anemia (large red blood cells)
- Myocardial infarction (heart attack)
- Obesity
- Osteoporosis
- Parkinson’s disease
- Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS)
- Prostate cancer
- Schizophrenia
- Seizure disorder
- Subacute combined degeneration of the spinal cord (SCAD)
- Thyroid cancer
- Tuberculosis (TB)
- Ulcers
People with a history of alcoholism should consult with a doctor before starting any type of self-treatment regimen, as they might require additional medications or medical supervision due to the serious nature of some of these disorders. If you want to drink casually in the evenings, there are no negative effects other than perhaps making you more susceptible to illness than usual. However, if you’re concerned about the effects of alcohol on your health, then it might be best to avoid it completely.
The only way to tell how much alcohol is too much is by experimentation. The only way to know how much medication is too much is by trying it. Sometimes you might need a little bit of both, but in general, you can’t judge whether or not you’ve had too much of either by looking at a drug store carton.
Alcohol Increases the Risk of Dementia And Alzheimer’s Disease
Alcohol has long been known to have a dark side, and it turns out that it can also increase your risk of developing dementia. In a recent study on more than 3,000 middle-aged and older adults, participants who reported drinking at least four drinks per day were more likely to develop dementia compared to nondrinkers. One possible explanation for this is that alcohol can interfere with the production of acetylcholine, a neurotransmitter that is crucial for learning and memory. In people with low levels of acetylcholine, alcohol might actually cause dementia. It’s also been suggested that frequent and excessive alcohol consumption might increase the chances of developing Alzheimer’s disease. This might be because alcohol destroys the brain cells that produce and maintain memories. Finally, the chemical properties of alcohol can lead to a type of Alzheimer’s disease called “wet-weather dementia.” This type of dementia is usually seen in older men and women who live in humid climates. Think about it this way: if you live in a place that frequently gets wet, then the molecules in the air might stick to the surface of your brain cells, making them work harder to stay dry.
Alcohol Increases The Risk Of Falls
Falls are a very common problem among older people, especially as we get older and our bodies start to lose their coordination. If you’re already dealing with a fall issue, then it’s important to know that alcohol can increase the risk of falling. In one study, men who took a drink before bedtime had a 46 percent higher risk of falling compared with men who didn’t drink at all. This is likely because alcohol reduces the strength of the bones in your body, making them more susceptible to breaking from a simple fall. A similar link has been shown between alcohol consumption and bone fractures in older people. This is probably because alcohol impairs the functioning of your kidneys, which affects the amount of vitamin C and calcium in your blood. This in turn affects the strength of your bones. In addition, alcohol consumption has also been shown to increase the risk of hip fractures in older people. This ties back to the previous point about bone strength, as frequent drinking can lead to hip problems and arthritic pain. There’s also animal research that suggests that alcohol can actually change the structure of your bones, making them weaker and more susceptible to breaking.