COVID patients who recover from the virus could be left with erectile dysfunction, a doctor has warned.
Infectious disease expert Dena Grayson said there now fears the coronavirus could hinder a man’s ability to perform in the bedroom, even after they’ve recovered.
Dr Grayson said we “now know that people can have long term health effects from this virus”
“There is some real concern here that men could have long term issues of erectile dysfunction from this virus, because we know that it causes issues in the vasculature,” said Dr. Dena Grayson. Grayson told NBC Chicago’s LX this week.
“This is something that is of real concern – [it’s] not just that this virus can kill you but can actually cause long-term, lifelong, potential complications.”
The warning comes after it emerged what doctors calls “Long Covid” can lead to patients suffering multiple organ damage for months after infection.
Half a million Brits are understood to be struggling with lingering symptoms of Covid-19, including fatigue, breathlessness and pain.
New research into 500 “low-risk” individuals revealed that the virus can have a long-lasting effect on some of the major organs.
The Coverscan study found that of the first 200 patients to undergo screening, 70 per cent had damage in one or more organs, including the heart, lungs, liver and pancreas.
Sir Simon Stevens, chief executive of NHS England, said the health service needed to mobilise to help long Covid patients in the same way that it dealt with coronavirus infections in March.
He said: “Long Covid is already having a very serious impact on many people’s lives and could well go on to affect hundreds of thousands.”
A recent study by King’s College London found that people still suffered from muscle pain, loss of taste and smell, and excessive tiredness for 12 weeks or more after catching the virus.
NHS England has now provided £10million to fund the 43 specialist long Covid centres, in order to aid those still suffering the consequences of the virus.
Some will take the form of mini-hospitals, set up inside larger hospitals, while others will be based in NHS sites and clinics at GP surgeries.
