IS YOUR COUGH MEDICINE KILLING YOUR LIBIDO?

THERE are dozens of everyday medications that can reduce libido in women (and men), says Sid Dajani, a community pharmacist and spokesman for the Royal Pharmaceutical Society. These libido thieves include:

OVER-THE-COUNTER DRUGS

ANTIHISTAMINES, such as Piriton, which contain chlorphenamin, which activates the sleep centres in the brain causing drowsiness. ‘If you can’t keep your eyes open, you aren’t really going to be in the mood for sex,’ says Sid Dajani.

COLD and pain remedies with codeine may also switch off sexual desire in some as they switch off anything that might lead to excitement, including libido, he says (products with codeine include Solpadeine Max and Codeine Linctus).

PRESCRIPTION MEDICINES

ANTIDEPRESSANTS, such as selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs), affect chemical messengers in the brain and can stop sexual impulses. ‘This happens to around half my patients on SSRIs, but libido usually returns after a few months,’ says Sid Dajani.

BREAST cancer drugs, such as Tamoxifen, that block the action of female hormone oestrogen, can lead to vaginal drying and loss of libido.

CONTRACEPTION can, ironically, make women less likely to want sex. ‘The Mirena coil has been associated with a drop off in libido, although the numbers affected are small and it is usually down to an ill-fitting coil or worries about the device itself,’ says Sid Dajani. ‘Oral contraceptive pills can boost desire in some women and destroy it in others.’