Man Claims His Penis Shrinked After He Contracted COVID-19, Condition Likely Permanent

A 30-year-old man in the U.S. claimed his penis has shrunk by an inch as a result of a lasting side effect of COVID-19. To his great disappointment, doctors said the condition is likely permanent.

The anonymous man, who contracted COVID-19 in July 2021 and was hospitalized after the complications escalated, said the side effect took a toll on his self-confidence. The man said his penis was above average size before the rare side effect struck him.

The man, who appeared in Slate's How To Do It Sex Advice With Stoya And Rick podcast, said he had some erectile dysfunction issues after he was released from hospital.

"I'm a heterosexual man in my thirties. In July of last year, I contracted COVID and was very sick," he said. “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," the man added.

“It's apparently due to vascular damage, and my doctors seem to think it's likely permanent," he further said. "It shouldn't really matter, but it has had a profound impact on my self-confidence in my abilities in bed."

The man, however, didn't disclose whether or not he was vaccinated.

"It is true that having erectile dysfunction leads to shortening," urologist Ashley Winter MD said in the podcast. "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."

According to the findings of research conducted in November 2021 by a group of urologists, unvaccinated men can have a hard time having an erection after contracting COVID-19. COVID-19 is known to affect blood vessels and the ones in the penis aren't also spared. The blood vessel damage in the penises of the COVID-19 patients can lead to erectile dysfunction, a condition typically termed as "COVID-dick" by doctors.

A small study published in 2021 in The World Journal of Men's Health concluded that people suffering erectile dysfunction after COVID-19 is a sign that virus particles are still left in the penis, disrupting blood flow, thereby affecting the erection.