The human body goes through many changes throughout the course of its lifetime. Your nose grows in length as you age, your vision can become increasingly less sharp for a variety of reasons...the list can go on and on. But what about your private parts, and more specifically for people who have penises, can it really shrink?
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Unfortunately, yes it can and it often does, but more importantly, you should know that this is completely normal. But in case you were wondering what causes this shrinkage, here's a list of reasons that could cause a loss of centimetres in your penis.
1. Ageing
Ageing is perhaps the most common reason why some people with penises can experience shrinkage. Basically, as you age, both your hormone levels and your libido decrease, which means you naturally end up using your member much less. By having fewer erections, the arteries in the penis that provide blood flow to get hard become more congested and narrow, which ultimately naturally degenerates the spongy tissue of your member. This unfortunate, but natural process, contributes to your penis shrinking.
2. Smoking
Not only will it dramatically reduce the quality of your life by completely annihilating your lungs, but smoking is detrimental to your blood vessels. As we know, these guys are necessary for healthy and strong erections. With fewer erections, your penis is being stretched out much less, causing it to lose length over time.
3. Medication
Studies have shown antidepressants, antipsychotics and medication used to treat attention deficit disorder (such as Adderall) and prostate problems (such as finasteride and dutasteride) can cause penis shrinkage.
4. Prostate Surgery
Known as a prostatectomy, 70% of men who have had their prostates removed as a treatment for cancer have reported a loss of size. Though the correlation is not fully understood, one popular theory suggests that a muscle contraction upon removal of the prostate can make the penis shrivel up farther into the body. Reports have shown that the amount of length lost ranges from half to three quarters of an inch.
5. COVID-19
Yep, the deadly virus is even able to deduct a couple of centimetres from your member. A shrinking penis has been observed by 3.2% of men who experienced long COVID, according to one study from King's College London.
Are there are any effective treatments?
Though penis enlargement surgery is possible, it is very pricey and can come with many complications if done incorrectly. Another solution is to keep your penis active by facilitating erections. This can be done using drugs such as Viagra or Cialis.
A penis shrinking might not be completely reversible, but it can be managed to make sure you can still have full use of your member.
Read also:
⋙ What happens to our penis as we age?
⋙ Doctor reveals the average penis size might be smaller than you think
