The fact that coronavirus infection could linger in the most unlikely of body parts and for a very long time, is well established. As is the possibility of it causing erectile dysfunction, but a claim that coronavirus caused a man's penis size to shrink has taken the medical community by surprise and Twitter by memes.
The man, yet anonymous, an American in his 30s is said to have been blessed with an above-average size before being down with COVID and coming down several sizes, the Mirror reports. A University College London also conducted a study to the effect, with 3,400 people. The study found that the symptom is rare among the 200 people who developed COVID. The anonymous person is convinced that he has lost an inch and doctors say that it is not impossible.
It's further reported that the patient shared his experience on the podcast How To Do It. Wherein he said, "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."
What makes the damage, a serious one
To add to the woes, the man has been told by doctors that the damage might be irreversible one. He further said, "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."
Can it actually happen?
Is there a plausible medical explanation behind the connection between COVID and reduced penis size? Speaking further on the podcast, American urologist Ashley Winter said that penile shrinkage after COVID was due to erectile dysfunction.
"It is true that erectile dysfunction leads to shortening. You have this period of time where the penis is not stretching itself out, where it's not, you know getting all this full blood into it, and that can lead to scarring of the penis and shortening of the penis." Dr Winter further explained that men were only at a risk of smaller penis if the cause of their erectile dysfunction was physical.
What is the average size?
A study conducted in 2015, by King's College London, took measurements from more than 15,000 men to find out the averages. It found that the average length of a flaccid penis is 3.6 inches and 5.2 inches (when stretched but still flaccid). That should help assess the damage more specifically.
