Erectile dysfunction ‘new symptom of long Covid’ – as docs warn young Brits at high risk
ERECTILE dysfunction could be a symptom of long Covid, experts have claimed.
They said it may provide an even bigger reason for young men to accept their vaccine offer - as an NHS chief has warned long Covid is a threat to young Brits.
🔵 Read our coronavirus live blog for the latest updates
Coronavirus infection is known to impact the blood vessels in some cases, despite it being a respiratory virus.
The inflammation of the vessels may restrict blood flow to penis, making it difficult for a man to get it up, scientists suggest.
If the penis can’t keep blood in the area, then the erection would be lost.
Other vascular diseases, such as coronary artery disease, high blood pressure and diabetes, are risk factors for erectile dysfunction.
Speaking of Covid, Dr Ryan Berglund, a urologist at the Cleveland Clinic in Ohio, told the : “The blood vessels themselves that can become inflamed... could cause an obstructive phenomenon and negatively impact the ability to get erections.”
He said he had seen some patients himself who had been suffering the condition after being infected with coronavirus.
Dr Berglund joked: “Having vaccinations leads to having more sex.
“I would suggest for young people to get their vaccinations: If they want to have sex, better to get the vaccine.”
So far, the evidence of the link between Covid and impotence is mainly anecdotal, and “we don’t know the scale of the problem at this point”, Dr Berglund said.
It can’t be proven as the cause of the men’s erectile dysfunction, as “anything that could affect the ability of the artery to effectively deliver sufficient blood supply could lead to erectile dysfunction”.
Emmanuele Jannini, professor of endocrinology and medical sexology at the University of Rome Tor Vergata in Italy, has also warned erectile dysfunction may be a symptom of long Covid.
Prof Jannini explained the virus “triggers inflammation of the blood vessels”, and “when those blood vessels and the rest of the cardiovascular system are harmed, it can trigger erectile dysfunction”.
There are a couple of other theories, including that a lack of oxygen associated with struggling lungs may “impair erectile function”.
What are common causes of erectile dysfunction?
Every male fails to get it up now and again.
But repeated erection problems can impact relationships and a man's mental health.
The condition is common, especially over the age of 40.
Causes include:
- Heart disease
- Clogged blood vessels (atherosclerosis)
- High cholesterol
- High blood pressure
- Diabetes
- Obesity
- Alcoholism and other forms of substance abuse
- Sleep disorders
- Depression, anxiety or other mental health conditions
- Stress
- Relationship problems
Thing you can do to help, aside from treatment:
- Lose weight if you're overweight
- Stop smoking
- Eat a healthy diet
- Exercise daily
- Try to reduce stress and anxiety
- Do not cycle for a while (if you cycle for more than 3 hours a week)
- Do not drink more than 14 units of alcohol a week
Prof Jannini said patients whose Covid infection was serious and resulted in pneumonia were probably at higher risk.
It could also be that mental health problems triggered by Covid-related stress or anxiety could also lead to problems in the bedroom.
But the paper concluded that future research was needed to establish how Covid might lead to erectile dysfunction.
Long Covid impacting the young
It comes as experts have warned of an epidemic of long Covid cases in young people, as infections soar in the UK - mostly in those who are unvaccinated.
New figures today suggest there could be up to 500 unvaccinated people coming down with long Covid every day.
And this could increase to 1,000 if daily infections get to 50,000 - as predicted by ministers and scientists alike.
The data comes from the ZOE Covid Symptom Study, led by Tim Spector OBE, lead professor of Genetic Epidemiology at King’s College London.
He said: “Vaccines reduce the chances of people getting long Covid, by reducing the risk of seriously debilitating symptoms and also by reducing the chances of an infection lasting more than three months.
“But unfortunately, if new cases continue to increase then many more thousands of people, especially the young, will be affected by long term symptoms that leave sufferers unable to live life normally.”
Prof Spector said the “enormous amount of people” with long Covid accumulating will put pressure on the NHS while also affecting the economy, as people can’t work.
An NHS chief has said there is a “real nervousness” about the number of unvaccinated young people who have mild Covid symptoms but go on to develop more severe long Covid.
Chris Hopson, the chief executive of NHS Providers, told BBC Breakfast docs were “really getting quite worried” about the number of unvaccinated young who had mild Covid symptoms "quickly developing much more severe long Covid-type symptoms”.
He added: “And we just don’t know exactly how this is going to pan out so we just need to be careful about recognising the risks that we’re running here.
“It’s not just about hospitalisations, it’s actually potentially people having really quite serious long-term conditions once they have caught Covid.
“What they were saying was it wasn’t just a few of these young people who had mild Covid symptoms and then really quite severe long Covid symptoms, it was actually quite a few.
“So there’s a real nervousness here about we still don’t fully understand what the long-term health consequences are if you catch Covid. So we all need to be careful and aware of the risks here.”
Meanwhile, more than 100 scientists and doctors have pleaded with the Government not to abandon all restrictions on July 19 because it is a “dangerous and unethical experiment”.
One of their key arguments is that an exponential growth of the virus “will likely continue until millions more are infected, leaving hundreds of thousands with long-term illness and disability”.
They also stressed there was a risk of long Covid to the wider population, especially those who were vulnerable and children.
READ MORE SUN STORIES
Dr Chaand Nagpaul, chair of the Council for the British Medical Association, said: “The Government has also airbrushed the impact of long Covid on one in 10 people getting infected and with two million having been unwell for more than three months.
“It would be irresponsible to inflict further suffering on millions more.”