Coronavirus Could Cause Erectile Dysfunction As Side-Effect, Says Expert
CDC has already highlighted some long-term effects including cough, chest pain, joint pain, cough shortness of breath, fatigue, muscle pain, difficulty in thinking and concentrating, headache, intermittent fever, heart palpitations etc.
Ever since COVID-19 has taken over our lives, we¡¯ve been doing whatever it takes to keep ourselves safe from the pandemic-causing novel coronavirus.
And every day we hear new effects of the SARS CoV-2 coronavirus on the human body -- whether it¡¯s damage to the brain or the central nervous system. However, now an expert reveals that this could also cause long-term erectile dysfunction in men.
This is according to Dr Dena Grayson, MD, PhD, who said this in an interview with NBC 5, "There is some real concern here that men could have longtime issues of erectile dysfunction from this virus because we know that it causes issues in the vasculature. So this is something that is of real concern¡ªnot just that this virus can kill, but can actually cause long-term, lifelong potential complications."
In case you didn¡¯t know, vasculature refers to a network of blood vessels connecting the heart with all other organs and tissues in the body. Arteries and arterioles travel oxygen-rich blood and nutrients from the heart to the organs and tissues of the body.
On the other hand venules and veins carry deoxygenated blood back to the heart. We all know that penile erections occur when our body rushes blood to the part. With issues in the vasculature, this transfer could cause hindrances.
CDC has already highlighted some long-term effects including cough, chest pain, joint pain, cough shortness of breath, fatigue, muscle pain, difficulty in thinking and concentrating, headache, intermittent fever, heart palpitations etc. Some severe long-term compilations of COVID-19 include inflammation of heart muscle, sleep issues, lung function abnormalities, kidney failure as well as psychiatric conditions like anxiety, depression etc.
Grayson added, ¡°The vast majority of people do seem to recover from this virus, but as time goes on, and more and more people are infected, we're going to, unfortunately, see more and more of these long-term negative consequences of infection."
It is, however, important to note that erectile dysfunction hasn¡¯t been listed by CDC in its list of long-term effects and more study and analysis is needed. However, it's always better to be safe than sorry, right guys?