The coronavirus can bring with it a range of long-term symptoms and side effects, but this is unlike anything we’ve ever heard of. Recently, an anonymous man spoke out about how the coronavirus debilitated his life and mainly his performance in bed.
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Shrinking penis
He disclosed in a letter, which was read on Slate’s How To Do It podcast, that he had contracted COVID in July last year and suffered with erectile dysfunction issues after he was released from the hospital. He added:
Those gradually got better with some medical attention, but I seemed to be left with a lasting problem.
My penis has shrunk before I got sick. I was above average. Not huge, but definitely bigger than normal. Now I’ve lost about an inch and a half and become decidedly less than average.
When he went to the doctors about his shrunken member, they said that it could be because of vascular damage, and moreover that it could be permanent.
The hosts of the podcast Stoya and Rich Juzwiak called upon an expert to give their two cents on his claim and it looks like ‘COVID penis’ is actually a thing. Guest speaker, urologist Dr. Ashley Winter said that erectile dysfunction, which is a previously reported COVID symptom, can cause penises to shrink. She explained:
It is true that having erectile dysfunction leads to shortening.
You have this period of time where the penis is not stretching itself out, where it’s not, you know, getting all this full blood into it, and that can lead to scarring of the penis and shortening of the penis.
And that’s probably what you know your caller is referring to now.
‘COVID d**k’
This is not the first time a man has had penile problems after contracting the coronavirus. According to WebMD, a study had revealed that the virus has the ability to damage the blood vessels in the reproductive organ which then causes erectile dysfunction. In fact, the case was observed in two men who had to eventually receive surgery for their ED. Senior researcher, Dr. Ranjith Ramasamy from the University of Miami’s Miller School of Medicine, said:
We found that the virus affects the blood vessels that supply the penis, causing erectile dysfunction.
The blood vessels themselves malfunction and are not able to provide enough blood to enter the penis for an erection.
He’s now urging all men who notice ED symptoms after COVID infection to get medical help immediately. He added:
Don't think this is something that's going to go away on its own. We think this could be a long-lasting effect, and not a temporary one.
