After 2 years of COVID-19 and heading into the third there's been a lot discovered about the virus one aspect of COVID. However, there's one that isn't talked about that much and that is men's sexual health. There has been researching done that shows that COVID-19 can cause erectile dysfunction.
Covid can cause erectile dysfunction (ED) due to physiological issues caused by the virus as well as psychological. There is also evidence that covid can lower male fertility namely in its effects on sperm count in men.
The Physical Causes
There's evidence that shows that there are physical reasons as to why covid can cause erectile dysfunction. Covid-19 has serious detrimental effects on the heart and the entire cardiovascular system, it can cause inflammation throughout the body including but not limited to the heart and blood vessels which can lead to heart disease.
Erectile dysfunction when caused by physiological issues can be a precursor to heart disease so there is that link between covid’s effect on the heart and blood flow which can cause erectile dysfunction.
Another physiological reason that there seems to be evidence for is that Covid can affect the inner lining of blood vessels affecting the distribution of blood throughout the body. This means if blood isn't properly supplied to the male genitalia, then erectile dysfunction is possible.
The Psychological Causes
Added to this, there's also evidence that shows another big reason that covid can cause erectile dysfunction is the significant psychological pressures caused by the pandemic. It's no doubt that the past few years have caused significant strain on people's mental health including increased stress and even evidence of a significant increase in people showing signs of severe symptoms of depression.
According to ‘healthline.com’, stress and anxiety can lead to developing ED and it’s safe to say that people are feeling that in an inordinate amount at the moment. They also state that stress and anxiety can lead to developing other serious health conditions that have the symptom of erectile dysfunction.
When under conditions of high-stress people are known to let their health slip or even develop unhealthy coping mechanisms for the stress such as unhealthy eating leading to increased weight gain and potentially obesity. Another unhealthy coping mechanism that stress can cause is increased consumption of alcohol which has a whole litany of health effects associated with it especially damage to the heart which can lead to erectile dysfunction.
People's general health is seriously affected by covid as it can cause a whole heap of health issues and erectile dysfunction as previously stated. As well as being a precursor for heart issues it can also be a sign of many other serious health issues.
So, there's no doubt that covid has been a real trigger for erectile dysfunction however one issue with the reporting on this issue is that it's fairly common for men to suffer from ED but not go to the doctor due to a number of social anxieties and for many men, ED is simply embarrassing to them.
However due to changing social norms and campaigns to try and encourage men to go to the doctor and talk about their health hopefully this is an issue that will decrease over time.
