Читать книгу The Lovin' Ain't Over for Women with Cancer - Ralph Alterowitz - Страница 9

Lifestyle choices can harm sexuality. These include smoking, drinking alcohol, and using street drugs. For example, alcohol has a sedative effect that often dampens sexual interest and energy. In addition, a high-fat diet can block arteries and also clog pelvic blood vessels that aid the arousal cycle. The three major lifestyle causes of dysfunction in both women and men are:

Alcohol: People talk of going out to eat and drink, and then making love. Alcohol is perceived as “loosening people up” and making them more receptive to engaging in sex because it reduces inhibition. While it is true that a little alcohol, such as a glass of wine or a beer, can decrease anxiety and inhibition and generally relax a person, it can also depress sexual function and mood. Several drinks are likely to make someone sleepy and less able to actively participate in sex. In many men, alcohol may reduce the ability to have an erection and a climax.

Street and Prescription Drugs: Many prescription drugs available today lessen the ability and the energy to make love. Some drugs (both prescription and street drugs) increase desire and a sense of sensuality, but decrease sexual response.

Prescription drugs with sexual side effects include those prescribed to control cardiovascular problems (such as hypertension and angina) anxiety, depression, psychosis, and other conditions.

If you suspect that a prescription drug has side effects that affect your sexuality, check with your pharmacist and with your doctor. If this is the case, ask your doctor if there is an alternative medication that may not have this effect.

Cocaine, heroin, marijuana and other street drugs will distort sexual response.

Smoking: Research increasingly shows the direct cause-and-effect relationship between smoking and sexual function in men and women. Nicotine directly interferes with circulation and pathways of the nervous system. Smoking has a negative effect on the sexual organs, clogging small blood vessels and thereby reducing blood flow, including in the clitoral area in women and the penis in men.