Another day and another reason to get yourself vaccinated against COVID-19. Read how men may experience short-term erectile dysfunction due to COVID-19 that could become a permanent condition if left untreated.
Erectile Dysfunction- A Summary
Erectile Dysfunction (ED) is a condition in men where they are unable to get or keep an erection firm enough for sexual intercourse. Few things that are known to cause ED are:
- Depression/Stress/Anger– Arousal begins in your brain and being depressed, stressed, or angry can tamper with your needs
- Misuse– Alcohol and drug misuse can cause difficulties while climaxing
- Medications– Medicines that numb your brain will definitely affect your erection
- Performance Anxiety– The idea that you won’t be able to satisfy your partner can lead to ED
- Obesity– Obesity decreases testosterone levels in the body that in turn reduces your carnal desire.
- Health Conditions– Physical conditions that affect the blood flow, nerves, or muscles such as heart ailments, diabetes, BP, prostate or bladder surgeries, spinal cord injuries.
- Permanent erectile dysfunction may be due to old age, medical condition, or not addressing short-term ED
How Does COVID-19 Increase ED?
Unlike women, men feel awkward talking about their problems. However, short-term ED is not a cause for concern. The reason that caused it should be found out in order to treat it promptly.
Researchers are in the process of finding biomarkers or other indications in the human DNA to confirm that having ED could increase the risk of contracting coronavirus or vice versa.
Few researchers also speculate that there may be an independent factor that results in both ED and coronavirus. Studies are being conducted to determine the relationship between COVID-19 and ED.
What Do Surveys Say?
An online survey from Sex@COVID concluded that COVID-19 increases ED after considering the following factors derived from the responses of 985 sexually active male participants who were aged 18 years or above.
- Psychological pressure, anxiety, depression, and other common causes of ED that were high during the pandemic were adjusted according to the standards provided by the International Index of Erectile Function or the Sexual Health Inventory for Men.
- 25 of the participants were infected by COVID-19
- Age, BMI, health, and other conditions of the 25 men were considered, and 75 men with similarities were matched to them.
- The final output after adjusting a few differences showed that the 25 men affected by COVID-19 experienced a higher level of ED.
What to Consider?
The online survey provided direction for researchers to move further, while few dispute that it is wise to test the patients rather than going by self-diagnosed online surveys. Here are a few limitations of the online survey:
- There was no proof on whether the said 25 participants suffered from COVID-19
- The severity of neither COVID nor ED was mentioned
- Duration of the infection was not addressed
- Underlying conditions such as vascular disease were unknown
Though researchers are in a dilemma, medical practitioners fear late detection of erectile dysfunction due to COVID-19 could jeopardize the future human population. This is similar to how the coronavirus’s late speculation caused the pandemic. Therefore, they strongly recommend wearing a mask and getting vaccinated as soon as possible.
