Trouble In the Bedroom, Fellas? Louisiana Doctor Says COVID May Be the Cause

There are a number of known after effects from COVID 19, lung and breathing trouble, blood pressure difficulties and loss of taste and smell, just to name a few.

But erectile dysfunction? Well, that's what one Louisiana doctor is saying.

Dr. Matthew Mutter, a urologist at LSU Health in New Orleans says one of the side effects of battling Coronavirus is what he calls a systemic inflammatory response.

In a recent interview with Louisiana Radio Network, Mutter sounded a warning. “That in and of itself of fighting the Coronavirus infection and having the systemic inflammatory response," Mutter says, "And that can cause decreased blood flow to the penis,”

Mutter adds that because of the relative newness of COVID 19, it is too early to tell if erectile dysfunction tied to the virus is a short lived problem or permanent. Mutter adds that his male COVID patients with preexisting conditions like diabetes, heart disease, and pulmonary conditions are links to an added susceptibility to ED.

“COVID may just be one more strain on the body that can then put them over the edge to not longer have erectile function,” Mutter told LRN

But the doctor also adds a slightly positive note, saying that oft times a COVID patient's ED can be self-inflicted.

“That can weigh heavily from an emotional and mental standpoint on a man and having anxiety to potentially get COVID can also cause some erectile dysfunction in men,” he told LRN.

In closing, the New Orleans urologist says that since the pandemic began last year, he is seeing a marked increase in the number of cases among younger men, adding that no matter the cause, cases of erectile dysfunction in males under forty can be an early sign of heart disease.