Viagra and Alcohol: What You Need to Know | hims (2023)

Erectile dysfunction is a common problem that affects men of all ages.

In fact, research published by the NIH shows that more than 30 million men in the United States, or just under one-third of the US adult male population, are affected by some level of erectile dysfunction, or ED.

Thankfully, ED is a highly treatable condition. These days, a range of medications are available to enhance sexual performance and make it easier for men affected by ED to get and maintain an erection.

Among ED medications, Viagra® is one of the most popular and well-known.It’s been available since the late 1990s and has a long, proven track record of treating erectile dysfunction.

While Viagra is safe and effective for most men, using it with alcohol can affect its performance as an ED treatment and increase your risk of experiencing certain side effects.

Below, we’ve explained what can happen when you drink alcohol and use Viagra or similar ED medications. We’ve also discussed what you can to keep yourself safe if you use Viagra or other medication to treat ED before or while consuming alcohol.

Can You Take Viagra with Alcohol? The Basics

Although drinking excessive amounts of alcohol with Viagra isn’t recommended, it’s usually safe to drink a small amount of alcohol on nights you plan to use Viagra.

The precise definition of a “small” amount of alcohol can vary from person to person. In general, it’s best to stick to the CDC’s Dietary Guidelines for Alcohol, which set a daily intake of up to two alcoholic drinks per day (for example, two cans of beer or glasses of wine) for men.

This amount of alcohol, consumed at a normal pace, is unlikely to cause any negative effects in a healthy person when taken at the same time as Viagra or other ED medication.

As always, the normal rules of drinking alcohol always apply, whether you’re consuming alcohol on its own or with ED medication:

• Know your limits. Everyone has a different tolerance level for alcohol. Understand your limits and know when it’s time to stop drinking. If you feel tipsy, slow down and switch to something non-alcoholic to give yourself time to recover.

• Drink one serving of alcohol per hour. This gives your body additional time to process each drink. Slow down your alcohol consumption by sipping your drink instead of gulping it down all at once.

• Switch between alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks. If you’re out with your date or at a social event, you can limit your alcohol consumption by drinking a non-alcoholic drink in between each beer, wine or cocktail.

• If you feel drunk, take a break from drinking. The effects of alcohol can build up over time and hit you suddenly. If you feel drunk while you’re out on a date, take a break and stick to non-alcoholic drinks for the rest of the evening.

• Sildenafil's side effects with alcohol are the same as Viagra’s. Viagra is available as a brand-name medication and in its generic form as sildenafil. Because it contains the same ingredient as brand-name Viagra, generic sildenafil produces the same side effects when combined with alcohol.

What happens when you use Viagra with alcohol? Research generally shows that if you restrict your alcohol consumption to a reasonable amount, Viagra and alcohol are unlikely to cause any significant issues.

For example, in a 2004 study published in the journal, Clinical Pharmacology & Therapeutics, men were each given 100mg of sildenafil, the active ingredient in Viagra. This is the highest dose of Viagra that’s used to treat ED.

Some of the men in the study were also given 750mL of red wine -- the amount of wine found in a standard-sized wine bottle.

Over the course of three hours of monitoring, the researchers didn’t see any clinically important hemodynamic interaction between the medication and the alcohol.

It’s important to remember that this study took place in a clinical environment, meaning that the men were never far from medical help.

Although the findings of this study are interesting, it’s not recommended to drink alcohol in large quantities while using Viagra or any other ED medication.

It’s also worth noting that this study didn’t look at the men’s sexual performance after combining alcohol and Viagra -- an issue that we’ll address in more detail further down the page.

How Long After Taking Viagra Can You Drink Alcohol?

Actually, no time at all. According to an article published in the British Journal of Pharmacology, so long as you slow your alcohol intake to one drink per hour and ensure you are drinking an adequate amount of water, there is not much danger in mixing Viagra (sildenafil) with alcohol. Social drinking with Viagra is acceptable, but still not recommended.

How Many Beers Can You Have With Viagra?

Now that you know that the way Viagra and alcohol interact isn’t wildly dangerous if you drink in moderation, you may be wondering — just how many drinks can you have before mixing Viagra and alcohol together actually does become dangerous?

Like we said before, drinking in moderation means something different for everyone. For an average man, the CDC guidelines say it means one to two drinks per night.

Of course, it is important to note that excessive alcohol intake is dangerous in itself, and this is when the risk of damaging side effects increases.

Potential Side Effects of Using Viagra With Alcohol

While it’s generally safe to consume a small amount of alcohol at the same time as medications like Viagra, drinking to excess may increase your risk of developing side effects.

Common side effects of Viagra include headache, heartburn, facial flushing, chest pain, low blood pressure, insomnia (difficulty falling asleep or staying asleep), diarrhea, muscle aches, numbness in your legs, feet, arms and/or hands, changes in color vision and increased sensitivity to light.

We’ve discussed these side effects in more detail in our guide to sildenafil and Viagra side effects.

Research shows that your risk of experiencing side effects from Viagra can increase if you drink a significant amount of alcohol.

For example, a study published in the journal,Sexual Medicine, involving more than 300 men with erectile dysfunction found that men who consume above-average amounts of alcohol are more likely to develop headaches and flushing fromPDE5 inhibitors (medications used to treat ED) than men who don’t drink.

What’s more, according to the NIH, drinking excessive amounts of alcohol, even on just one occasion, comes with its own set of side effects. These include but are not limited to confusion or clouded thinking, irregular heartbeat and high blood pressure (hypertension) in relation to constricted blood vessels (according to an article published in the journal, Alcohol Research: Current Events).

That being said, because alcohol is a depressant to your central nervous system that has the ability to constrict blood vessels, and prescription drugs like Viagra are phosphodiesterase type 5 inhibitors that increase blood flow, the Viagra-alcohol mix may actually cancel out the drug’s positive effects.

Again, while it’s okay to drink a small amount of alcohol with Viagra, drinking large amounts of alcohol may increase your risk of developing side effects.

For more sildenafil warnings you can read our blog.

What’s the Risk of a Viagra and Alcohol Heart Attack?

As we talked about in our blog, Can Viagra Cause a Heart Attack, by itself, Viagra has not been proven to be a direct cause of heart attacks. However, according to the American Heart Association, long-term alcohol abuse or habitual binge drinking can increase the risk of a heart attack. That being said, it is important to monitor how much you are drinking in order to avoid increasing this risk.

Also, be sure to seek medical advice from your healthcare provider if you have a history of cardiovascular conditions and plan to drink with your dose of Viagra. They may be able to help define different, safer treatment options for your erection problems.

Alcohol and Viagra Interactions: Grapefruit Juice

While it’s generally alright to drink a small amount of alcohol with Viagra, you may need to take extra caution if you like drinks that contain grapefruit juice.

Grapefruit juice increases the bioavailability of sildenafil, the active ingredient in Viagra. It also delays your body’s absorption of sildenafil.

The effects and side effects of Viagra may be more long-lasting and if it’s combined with drinks that contain grapefruit.

As such, it’s best to avoid cocktails that contain grapefruit while you use Viagra, generic Viagra or generic sildenafil.

Cocktails that contain grapefruit juice include the Greyhound, the Paloma, the Brown Derby (or "De Rigueur"), the Sea Breeze and grapefruit-based variations of common cocktails such as a margarita and mojito.

Alcohol and Erectile Dysfunction

While it’s generally safe to drink a small amount of alcohol with Viagra, it’s worth remembering that alcohol usually isn’t a great choice for optimal sexual performance.

Although a glass of wine or two can help to set the mood for a romantic night, research shows that alcohol is associated with several negative effects on sexual function.

For example, in a study of alcohol-dependent men published in the Indian Journal of Psychiatry, researchers found that 72 percent had one or more forms of sexual dysfunction.

The most common types of sexual dysfunction were erectile dysfunction, reduced sexual desire (low libido) and premature ejaculation.

Other research into the effects of alcohol on sexual function and performance tends to show the same patterns.Long-term alcohol use is highly associated with ED, although there’s less of a link in occasional drinkers. Interestingly, this association isn’t present in men who only consume a mild to moderate amount of alcohol.

In a study published in theJournal of Sexual Medicine, researchers found that men who drink a moderate amount of alcohol (defined as one to 20 standard drinks per week) were less likely to have erectile dysfunction than men who completely abstain from drinking.

Put simply, while drinking to excess is clearly associated with reduced sexual performance, the link between mild alcohol consumption and issues such as ED isn’t so clear.

As such, if you like to drink alcohol and want to reduce your risk of dealing with issues such as ED, it’s important to limit your consumption to a moderate amount.

Does Alcohol Make Viagra Less Effective?

Does alcohol affect Viagra? While using Viagra with a small amount of alcohol doesn’t seem to have any immediate health risks, it could make the medication less effective as a treatment for erectile dysfunction for several reasons.

First, alcohol affects blood flow throughout your body. Research published in the journal, Science Daily, has found that drinking a small amount of alcohol can have a positive effect on your cardiovascular health.

However, this effect reverses as the amount of alcohol you consume increases. When you drink an excessive amount of alcohol, this may counteract the effects of Viagra and make it harder for you to get and maintain an erection when you’re aroused.

Second, research shows that alcohol can suppress your body’s testosterone levels.Since your levels of testosterone are closely linked to sexual desire, this may reduce your level of interest in sex and prevent you from becoming aroused.

A study published in the journal, Drug and Alcohol Dependence, found that men’s testosterone levels decline within 30 minutes of alcohol consumption.This means that despite the common belief that alcohol increases your level of interest in sex, you might actually feel less interested in having sex shortly after you start drinking.

Third, alcohol is infamous for causing a sexual performance issue known as whiskey dick, or alcohol-induced erectile dysfunction. This temporary form of ED may pop up after you’ve had too much to drink and ruin what could have otherwise been an enjoyable night.

Combined, these factors may make ED medications like Viagra slightly less effective if you’ve consumed alcohol.

The Bottom Line on Alcohol and Viagra

While there’s nothing wrong with enjoying a drink or two before you use Viagra, it’s important to drink responsibly if you want to enjoy optimal results and good sexual performance.

This is also true if you use other types of medication to treat erectile dysfunction, such as Cialis (tadalafil), vardenafil (Levitra) or avanafil (Stendra).

Alcohol often precedes sexual activity -- something you won’t need to change if you use Viagra to treat erectile dysfunction.

Drink responsibly by limiting your alcohol consumption to one or two drinks per night and you’ll find it easy to enjoy the benefits of Viagra without any issues.