MailOnline/
A man in the US has claimed his penis shrunk by 1.5 inches as a result of vascular damage he suffered after contracting Covid.
The unfortunate victim, who identified himself as a heterosexual man in his thirties, said the issue has had a “profound impact on my self-confidence and abilities in bed”.
The man said he contracted a severe bout of the virus in July of last year, but after being discharged from hospital upon recovery, was left with a strange case of erectile disfunction (ED).
This affliction was remedied with treatment over time, but to his dismay the victim found his penis had contracted considerably – a condition doctors told him is likely permanent due to vascular damage in his erectile tissue.
It comes as a University College London study of 3,400 people found that a shortened penis was a rare symptom among the 200 who developed long Covid.
Meanwhile, a study published in the World Journal of Men’s Health by University of Miami Miller School of Medicine showed widespread endothelial cell dysfunction from Covid-19 infection can contribute to significant ED.
Speaking on the sex advice podcast How To Do It, the victim revealed his troubling affliction.
“I’m a heterosexual man in my thirties. In July of last year, I contracted Covid and was very sick.
“When I got out of the hospital, I had some erectile dysfunction issues. Those gradually got better with some medical attention, but I seem to be left with a lasting problem.
“My penis has shrunk. Before I got sick, I was above average, not huge, but definitely bigger than normal. Now I’ve lost about an inch-and-a-half and become decidedly less than average.
“It’s apparently due to vascular damage, and my doctors seem to think it’s likely permanent.
“It shouldn’t really matter, but it has had a profound impact on my self confidence in my abilities in bed.”
In response to the wild claim, Dr. Charles Welliver, a urologist and Director of Men’s Health at Albany Medical College, NY, said the Covid infection can indeed cause ED, and in some cases, a shrinking of the penis should the ED persist over a period of time.
“You can connect these dots… There are pretty significant vascular issues that occur with guys.
“Studies have actually shown that guys can get priapism – the prolonged erection that is dangerous in its own right – and guys can also get ED from Covid, so it can kind of go both directions.
“When guys get ED, they get a lack of erections for a while, and when that happens they actually do get some shrinkage.”
Dr. Ashley Winter, a urologist based in Oregon, also supported the legitimacy of the claims, “It is true that having erectile dysfunction leads to shortening.
”Covid D*ck” is a real thing.”
However, while the victim said his doctors advised him his condition was likely permanent, both Welliver and Winter insisted that rehabilitative practices involving medication, stretching and vacuum devices can help to restore lost length over time.
The University of Miami Miller School of Medicine declared that their study “demonstrates the presence of the COVID-19 virus in the penis long after the initial infection in humans and suggests that widespread endothelial cell dysfunction from COVID-19 infection can contribute to resultant erectile dysfunction.”
But doctors from the University stressed that further studies are needed to validate the effects of the virus on sexual function.
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