Hide Ya Wives, Hide Ya Kids: Worldwide Coronavirus Pandemic!
- Nov 3, 2011
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Can COVID Lead to Impotence?
Roni Caryn RabinFri, May 6, 2022, 8:02 AM
A patient suffering from Long COVID is examined in the post-coronavirus disease (COVID-19) clinic of Ichilov Hospital in Tel Aviv, Israel, February 21, 2022. Picture taken February 21, 2022. REUTERS/Amir Cohen (Amir Cohen / reuters)
For a respiratory disease, COVID-19 causes some peculiar symptoms. It can diminish the senses of smell and taste, leave patients with discolored “COVID toes” or even cause a swollen, bumpy “COVID tongue.”
Now scientists are examining a possible link to an altogether unexpected consequence of COVID-19: erectile dysfunction. A connection has been reported in hundreds of papers by scientists in Europe and North America, as well as in Egypt, Turkey, Iran and Thailand.
Estimates of the magnitude of the problem vary wildly. A paper by Dr. Ranjith Ramasamy, director of reproductive urology at the University of Miami’s Desai Sethi Urology Institute, and his colleagues found that the risk of erectile dysfunction increased by 20% after a bout with COVID-19. Other investigators have reported substantially higher increases in that risk.
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When patients first started coming to Ramasamy’s clinic complaining of erection problems, “we dismissed it, thinking it was all psychological or stress-induced,” he said.
But over time, he and other physicians began to see a pattern, he said. “Six months after the initial infection, patients had gotten better overall, but they continued to complain of these problems,” including erectile dysfunction and low sperm counts, said Ramasamy, who has written several papers on the topic.
At the outset of the pandemic, Dr. Emmanuele Jannini, a professor of endocrinology and medical sexology at the University of Rome Tor Vergata, reported a strong link between erectile dysfunction and COVID-19. When he compared men who had been ill with COVID-19 with those who had not, he found that those who had been infected were nearly six times as likely to report impotence as those who had avoided the coronavirus.
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“Communicating that the disease can affect your sexual life is a tremendously powerful message,” especially for men who still resist vaccination, Jannini said. “The evidence is very strong.”
Research from imaging scans and biopsies indicates that the coronavirus can infect tissue within the male genital tract, where it may linger long after the initial infection. Scientists say it is too early to be certain that the link to erectile dysfunction is causal, since so many factors — psychological as well as physiological — play a role in producing and maintaining an erection. The pandemic has led to social isolation and a surge in anxiety and depression, all of which may play a role.
“Men’s erections are more complicated than people think,” said Dr. Justin Dubin, who co-wrote a paper about the adverse effect of COVID-19 on men’s health.
“You need good blood flow; you need the nerves to be firing; and you need good hormone levels, specifically testosterone,” he said. “But you also need to be in a good state of mind, and you also need to be aroused. If any of these things go wrong, you may have an issue getting an erection.”
In that sense, the pandemic is the perfect confluence of converging factors for causing erectile dysfunction, said Dr. Joseph Katz, a professor at Florida College of Dentistry. Katz stumbled on the issue of erectile dysfunction while investigating COVID-19’s effects on oral health.
Some researchers speculate that erectile dysfunction may be linked to the well-documented loss of the ability to taste and smell experienced by COVID-19 patients, because these senses play an important role in sexual arousal. “It is through smells that the arousal mechanism in the brain is ignited,” three Italian urologists wrote last year in a letter responding to Jannini’s paper.
At the very least, men need healthy blood vessels and good blood flow in order to develop and sustain erections. The coronavirus may damage blood vessels and the lining of the vessels, called the endothelium, as it binds to the molecular receptors that are plentiful on endothelial cells.
The vessels may not constrict and stretch as needed to allow for blood flow to the penis. Injury to the blood vessels may also contribute to more serious complications of COVID-19, like heart attacks, strokes and abnormal clotting.
“Our entire vascular system is connected; it’s not an isolated penis problem,” said Dr. T. Mike Hsieh, director of the men’s health center at University of California, San Diego.
But vascular problems can manifest in the sexual organs first, because the vessels there are so small. (Jannini calls erectile dysfunction “the canary in the coal mine” for cardiovascular disease.) Erectile dysfunction and cardiovascular disease share risk factors — such as being severely overweight, having metabolic diseases like diabetes, smoking and older age — which also increase the odds of having severe COVID-19.
“The artery for the penis is one-tenth the size of a coronary artery, and when you have a narrower vessel, whether it’s a plumbing problem or a vascular problem, it will show up there first, even before you see it in a larger artery,” Hsieh said.
Erectile dysfunction can precede a heart attack by about five years, he said, and can be an early signal that there are other underlying risk factors.
“When I see a guy for erectile dysfunction, they don’t just get a Viagra or Cialis prescription,” Hsieh said. “They get a referral to a primary care colleague or a cardiologist to make sure their cholesterol is in check; their diabetes is under control; to discuss weight management, lifestyle or dietary changes.”
Erectile dysfunction may point the way to better diagnosis of long COVID-19, Jannini said, or even deteriorating mental health.
“If you have a patient who survived COVID, and you want to know if he has long COVID or not, just ask him how it’s going in bed,” Jannini said. “If he’s having a normal sex life, the possibility of him having serious long COVID is very, very low.”
Left untreated, erectile dysfunction can lead to further complications. Cases of Peyronie’s disease, a condition that causes curved, painful erections as a result of fibrous scar tissue built up in the penis, and orchitis, the inflammation of one or both testicles, have developed in men who have had COVID-19, according to published research.
Men who do not have normal erections for several months at a time may develop scar tissue and fibrosis, which makes erectile dysfunction harder to treat and may even lead to shortening of the penis.
Erectile dysfunction can resolve on its own, but Hsieh encouraged men with symptoms to see their physicians, and sooner rather than later.
“If you’re having these problems, do not wait,” he said. “For the most part, we can get the guys’ sex lives back.”
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- Jan 30, 2007
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After reading the article, there were people within the company that raised concerns about quality control & the ability to even produce a safe product. They kept on trying, but kept on producing subpar vaccines.
400 million doses had to be destroyed... Who pays for that?! I’m glad that they never made it out of the facility, & their contract was terminated.
Looking at their stock price from 2017-current, their highest valuation pre-pandemic was $72 in 2018, and was $55 Jan 2020, but then skyrocketed to $134 in Aug 2020. Now they are sitting at $31
like they were in 2017. Wonder how many congress people jumped on them right before it went way up?!?
400 million doses had to be destroyed... Who pays for that?! I’m glad that they never made it out of the facility, & their contract was terminated.
Looking at their stock price from 2017-current, their highest valuation pre-pandemic was $72 in 2018, and was $55 Jan 2020, but then skyrocketed to $134 in Aug 2020. Now they are sitting at $31
like they were in 2017. Wonder how many congress people jumped on them right before it went way up?!?
- Jul 22, 2012
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So my daughter's classmate that sits next to her (don't get me started) got COVID. When the school notified us yesterday we immediately monitored her symptoms and she was acting fine and didn't feel sick.
She woke up feeling normal and will test her today. She's also is the last remaining student in her class to wear a mask.
Be safe y'all.
She woke up feeling normal and will test her today. She's also is the last remaining student in her class to wear a mask.
Be safe y'all.
- Jun 20, 2014
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When was the last time your daughter had exposure to her classmate?
- Jul 22, 2012
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Tuesday. She was sitting next to him during a class activity. Classmate was out Wednesday and received the notification on Wednesday evening.
- Jun 20, 2014
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I would personally not rush to test if your daughter remains asymptomatic. Friday would be the soonest, otherwise Monday morning before sending her to school.
- Jul 22, 2012
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I was thinking this too. I'm just glad that she's vaccinated and continues to wear a mask.
Everyone at her school thinks COVID is over. It's nuts. I even went to a STEM school event with her and only handful of parents and their kids were wearing masks.
- Jun 20, 2014
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That has been my experience as well. Most people don't even realize that we are currently in the early stages of a surge because they've moved on and aren't paying attention to the numbers anymore. Some schools in the northeast have gone back to virtual or reinstituted mask mandates because of the high positivity rates among students and staff. My wife has been subbing for a teacher at my kids' school who is out with COVID again after being infected in January as well. I'm sure there are many others who aren't even bothering to test because it's "just a cold." I would have hoped that the last 2+ years would have normalized people to wearing masks when they aren't feeling well, but it's like people conveniently forgot about trying to protect the vulnerable. My kids' school went from having COVID protocols at the top of the weekly newsletter to just putting a cute little infographic at the very bottom that parents obviously ignore.
None of this addresses the reality that we're dealing with a virus that spreads via aerosol transmission and it doesn't matter how clean your hands are or whether you've disinfected surfaces. Dumb.
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kdawg
Staff member
- Jun 25, 2003
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My wife’s friend is a teacher who’s just had it for the third time - and she’s no longer wearing a mask because no-one else is. Peer pressure is going to be a factor in the next while.
- Jun 20, 2014
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People are so weak minded that they're willing to potentially sacrifice their quality of life over how someone else might think about them wearing a mask. TBH, the more people I see without masks, the more it makes me want to wear one.
- Jul 22, 2012
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I like looking at people in the eyes and see them squirm in wanting to question why I'm still wearing a mask lol.
Them:
Me:
- Aug 5, 2007
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my daughter just turned 3. she has been saying that her best friend was not at school because she went to disneyland. now she’s changing it up and said she has “ko-hid”. my wife confirmed yesterday that the kid got covid on her disney trip and is in quarantine. i was like wow, so much for confidentiality. i guess they didn’t know my daughter listens to more than she might let on.
- Jun 20, 2014
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People I know have asked me, "how long will you continue wearing a mask?!" as though there's a specific timeline. I honestly can't imagine a time in the next ~5 years when I would consider NOT wearing a mask indoors indoors in public. Maybe forever. There really is no downside to it, IMHO.
kdawg
Staff member
- Jun 25, 2003
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I’m waiting for a comment - and my response will be “remind me what your important role during covid has been? Oh, you didn’t have one? I’ll stick to the health advice and you can concentrate on dog racing/booze and cigarettes/whatever insult comes to mind depending on the person”.
- Aug 5, 2007
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- Oct 23, 2014
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Come to Vegas, we been busy and clubs been packed.
Rarely see masks
So for us the pandemic been over
Lovers and friends fest & Billboard choice awards this weekend
EDC next weekend
Memorial weekend right after
Rarely see masks
So for us the pandemic been over
Lovers and friends fest & Billboard choice awards this weekend
EDC next weekend
Memorial weekend right after
- Jan 3, 2013
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it's funny cause people have said "it's been 3 years I don't even know what you look like." im like yeah that's the point.
I really don't care if people choose to wear it or not but I don't see why not, and with people filming everything they do nowadays and all the other goofy **** the anonymity is appreciated.
solewoman
Staff member
- Jul 27, 2006
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Had to go to fl for work. Damn near had a panic attack in the airport. People are so damn disgusting. Coughing and sneezing not covering their mouth. We have learned nothing. I haven’t traveled since the pandemic first started.
Since being here I’ve counted maybe 4 masks total. Surprisingly no one has said anything to me. But kept these 3m n95 aura masks on at all times.
Since being here I’ve counted maybe 4 masks total. Surprisingly no one has said anything to me. But kept these 3m n95 aura masks on at all times.
- Aug 28, 2014
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I’m going to Mexico next month and I’m not looking forward to how disgusting it will be in the airports.
Midas whale get ready for summer and fall surges again
- Dec 4, 2016
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And that was one single thing I was hoping folks would learn from the pandemic, being more mindful of coughs and sneezes, practicing at least covering mouth with a shoulder or something.
While walking past the deli section in a bougie grocery store, I watched a dude casually sneeze into the food bar as he was scooping food. Like no putting down the box and turning away from the food.
People are indeed disgusting
While walking past the deli section in a bougie grocery store, I watched a dude casually sneeze into the food bar as he was scooping food. Like no putting down the box and turning away from the food.
People are indeed disgusting
- Apr 30, 2010
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We have no reason to not stick to the spacing at least. Why do you want to be so close to strangers?
- Nov 24, 2009
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To sum it up, a lot of americans are trash.
- Feb 13, 2013
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people are grimey.
work at a corporate office setting where people are well put together. but the amount of people that dont wash their hands after using the restroom is surprising.
work at a corporate office setting where people are well put together. but the amount of people that dont wash their hands after using the restroom is surprising.
