Did You Know?
Imagine, you are a man in his prime who is sexually active. Now, add in a COVID-19 infection and join the club of 370 million fellow COVID-contracted members. Wait for about a year, do you know what can happen? According to many journal articles, it turns out the COVID-19 virus lives on in your penis long after the initial infection. To make things worse, it can cause erectile dysfunction!
COVID or not, if you've been experiencing some kind of erectile dysfunction, let's talk
Now now, hold your horses, please don’t rush into a panic just yet! To give you a bit of an insight, I will explain to your how exactly the virus affects the body. The virus affects not just the respiratory system but also the brain, circulatory system (which includes the heart, blood, and blood vessels), liver, pancreas and kidneys. The COVID-19 virus makes up blood clots that can block a blood vessel, and we all know that we have blood vessels literally everywhere on our body. When you prick your finger even just a little bit, blood comes out. That is the presence of a tiny blood vessel (called a capillary) that has just been damaged, bleeding out blood as a result.
A study by Kresch and their colleagues in 2021 suggests that the presence of the COVID-19 virus and its widespread infection resulted in dysfunction in the blood vessels located in the penis, which causes erectile dysfunction. Basically, blood supply to the penis can become blocked or narrowed because of COVID-19.
We’ve established that erectile dysfunction can be one of the complications of COVID-19, but how long will it last? According to urologist Dr. Berglund, we’re only just starting to understand the long-term effects of the virus, and many patients may have to suffer the symptoms for months.
“This study is another important example of not knowing enough about the long-term effects of the virus. Time and more research are needed until we have a better understanding.”
~ Dr. Berglund
Conclusion
So yes, we don’t know if the effects will last forever or just a really long time.
Erectile dysfunction can also be a sign of overall health deterioration. Men with poor health are more likely to get erectile dysfunction and a severe reaction to COVID-19. Because COVID-19 brings with it many health complications, general poor health is cause for concern both for the already-present erectile dysfunction and other complications. So if you or someone you know has voiced concerns about their erectile dysfunction, contact us at Restorative Sexual Health.
References:
Kresch, E., Achua, J., Saltzman, R., Khodamoradi, K., Arora, H., Ibrahim, E., Kryvenko, O. N., Almeida, V. W., Firdaus, F., Hare, J. M., & Ramasamy, R. (2021). COVID-19 Endothelial dysfunction can cause erectile dysfunction: Histopathological, immunohistochemical, and ultrastructural study of the human penis. The World Journal of MEN’s HEALTH, 39(3), 466-469. https://dx.doi.org/10.5534%2Fwjmh.210055.
https://health.clevelandclinic.org/yes-covid-19-can-cause-erectile-dysfunction/
In this episode entitled "Stand UP- Living with Long Covid & 200 possible side effects with Physiotherapist ‘’Darren Brown’’, we interview UK Physiotherapist Darren Brown who became an early COVID statistic himself.
Not much is known about the long-term side effects of life beyond acute COVID infection- the 2-3 weeks of respiratory illness- but Darren shares all that he knows about LONG COVID, from his own experiences of 1000s of others he has since met. You will be shocked to learn the depth & breadth of the corona virus, it’s harrowing persistence and devastating side effects – potentially affecting every organ including the brain, heart, lungs, limbs, and even the penis!!
Having issues with your sex drive, experiencing sexual performance anxiety, erectile dysfunction or another problem down there? Book a consultation with one of our practitioners.
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