While everyone might think that alcohol often leads to sex, having too much to drink can negatively impact your sexual performance and may even lead to ED.
Alcohol-induced erectile dysfunction, or whiskey dick, is a kind of sexual dysfunction that may occur after drinking too much. In this blog post, I’ll discuss everything you need to know about whiskey dick and how to handle it.
What Is Whiskey Dick?
This temporary type of erectile dysfunction happens when you get intoxicated as a result of alcohol consumption. When you finish drinking, you might find yourself unable to get or maintain an erection, even if you’re ready for intercourse. Unfortunately, whiskey dick is the result of the body’s reaction to drinking alcohol, which affects the central nervous system (CNS) and cardiovascular system.
Because alcohol is a depressant, it can slow down the CNS. When you consume alcohol, the CNS suffers from its effects, impairing reaction time, motor skills, and reasoning. It can also affect the information passed on from the brain to other parts of the body, including the penis.
While it can last for hours, it’s only temporary and will improve as you sober up. However, it can still be highly annoying, especially when it hits you after a great, romantic night out with your partner. Much like everything else related to alcohol and sex, there are various myths surrounding whiskey dick.
What Are the Effects of Alcohol on My Sex Drive?
Alcohol will lower your inhibitions, which means that it may be more likely for you to take your partner home for some fun after finishing a few drinks. Moreover, alcohol is associated with making riskier sexual decisions — young adults are more likely to engage in casual sex after consuming alcohol. But from a psychological perspective, alcohol won’t do anything good for your sexual performance and may have a negative impact.
Unfortunately, alcohol is a diuretic, speeding up the body’s fluid removal process through the renal system. This is why you pee more often when drinking beer or beverages containing alcohol. Urinating often causes dehydration and reduces your blood volume, which makes it harder to become erect or to keep it up.
Once you become dehydrated, you’ll release a hormone known as angiotensin, which is responsible for increasing blood pressure and helping the body retain sodium and water. However, this hormone causes your blood vessels to become narrow, making it hard for blood to flow to the penis, which adds a further challenge to getting or staying hard. The more you drink, the greater these effects will become — as such, you’re more likely to suffer from whiskey dick after a long night of shots.
How To Handle Whiskey Dick
After a great night out with your partner and a few drinks, it might be awkward to deal with erectile dysfunction when it’s time for some fun. The best way to handle whiskey dick is to have an upfront, transparent, and honest talk with your partner about the situation. Sit down and let them know that even though you would like to, your body is too drunk for you to perform.
Luckily, whiskey dick is a temporary condition, so you might have better luck the next morning if you and your partner are still up for it. If you decide to do it the next morning, drink a glass of water before going to bed to prevent getting a hangover that could interrupt your plans. On the other hand, you can still have non-penetrative sex with your partner, such as oral sex, or use sex toys to keep each other satisfied if you’re really feeling frisky but can’t stay hard.
Which Kind of Alcohol Causes Whiskey Dick?
Despite the belief that one type of alcohol is the likely culprit in causing performance issues, there’s no scientific proof to back this up. Every alcoholic beverage will contain ethanol or ethyl alcohol, and only the concentration will vary from one option to the other. As such, whiskey isn’t the only reason behind whiskey dick — it can be caused by any kind of alcoholic drink that has the potential to affect your sex drive if too much is consumed.
Preventing Whiskey Dick
The best way to prevent becoming exposed to whiskey dick is to limit how much alcohol you drink. Because this kind of erectile dysfunction is the result of the effects of alcohol on the body, reducing the amount you drink is an effective and easy way to lower your chances of being affected. However, you don’t have to completely cut off alcohol — you can enjoy drinking in moderation without having too many drinks.
A great resource that may help you drink in moderation is the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) — they recommend that men stick to two drinks a day and one drink a day for women. If you’re going for a night out with your partner or friends, here are just a few techniques to keep in mind for drinking responsibly:
- Drink alternatively between non-alcoholic and alcoholic beverages
- Set a limit on how much you can drink so you won’t get carried away
- As much as possible, don’t drink before getting something to eat
- Avoid peer pressure by drinking a non-alcoholic beverage that looks similar to alcohol
- Opt for drinks that have a low alcohol content to help prevent whiskey dick
If you notice that you might have a drinking problem, be sure to look for professional help. For a number of resources for you to use when looking for alcohol treatment in your area, be sure to visit the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism.
Whiskey Dick Shouldn’t Be a Problem
While whiskey dick is a common occurrence that can ruin what would be a great night, it doesn’t have to happen and can be prevented. Staying sober and drinking responsibly are some of the easiest ways to avoid getting this condition, and you’ll thank yourself for it. Be sure to watch how much you drink and stick to two drinks a night to ensure that the night stays fun, even when you get home.