Drinking lots of drugs increases the risk of impotence

The more drugs a man consumes, the higher your risk of erectile dysfunction. Going to the doctor's office to review their medication can ameliorate the problem, since it may take medications that no longer needed , they are duplicates or that provide more side effects than benefits.

Age, obesity, snuff, cardiovascular disease and diabetes are among the main factors that increase the risk of impotence. According to a study that includes the latest edition of the journal 'British Journal of Urology International' , this list must be added the use of multiple drugs.

A team of researchers from Kaiser Permanente Medical Center in Los Angeles (USA) has analyzed data from more than 37,000 men between 45 and 69 years and found that 16% of those taking both drugs a day to suffer erectile dysfunction moderate percentage rises to almost 20% of those who consume three to five drugs, 25% of those who eat between six and nine and, finally, about 31% of those taking more than 10 products each day .

The study authors point out that the drugs most associated with antihypertensives and impotence are some products intended to treat mental disorders such as depression. In addition, the potency is diminished with all drugs that interfere with the function of the hormone testosterone .

In addition to reviewing the medication to assess which drugs are expendable, the study authors propose the development of "changes in lifestyle, such as changing diet, regular exercise and not smoking, which can help control hypertension, diabetes and stress and reduce the risk of erectile dysfunction. Doctors can use to talk to their patients about the risks associated with impotence and health problems that require multiple drug consumption. "

The Spanish specialist Ignacio Moncada, coordinator of the Spanish Andrology Association of Urology, confirms that the promotion of healthy habits is the first step to combat the problem. "If despite this does not improve sexual function, what treatments should be applied."

Also, Moncada believes that a rational drug use in people with chronic illnesses. A careful evaluation can significantly reduce the number of products that consume a person. "There are medications that are laid but no one removed when no longer necessary , "he admits.

"Sometimes I get patients who could be treated with specific drugs for impotence, but there is an incompatibility with nitroglycerin patches they are using, "says urologist. "Most of the time they were placed after angina pectoris, but no longer needed. I tell them to ask their cardiologist and most of the time it confirms that they can stop using them."

However, you can always stop taking prescribed medications. At the end of the day, men with impotence are often those with poorer health, which are precisely those who need more medication. "Sometimes it is not possible to know if what causes erectile dysfunction is the drug or disease , "says Moncada. Thus, the products for hypertension cause impotence, but this condition is also, by itself, a major cause of sexual problems.