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These 2 strange symptoms could mean you’ve already had COVID! Researchers have found that COVID can affect our sexual and reproductive health – now you need to know!
Researchers are still learning!
Researchers are still learning more about patients who suffer from long-term COVID symptoms, and some of what they’ve found out so far may surprise you. In addition to the more familiar coronavirus symptoms like cough, fever, fatigue, and sensory disturbances, some patients suffer from much more intimate symptoms that are less talked about. As it turns out, both men and women have reported effects on their sexual and reproductive systems after COVID infection: In particular, some women with long-lasting COVID infection experienced menstrual changes, and men reported erectile dysfunction (ED) long after other symptoms had resolved. For more information about long-lasting COVID cases, see The 5 warning signs that indicate “long COVID.”
A literature review published in July in the Journal of Endocrinological Investigation was one of the first to confirm the presence of ED as a symptom of coronavirus. The researchers found trends in the literature suggesting that male COVID patients were more likely to have hypogonadism – a condition in which a person’s sex organs release little or no sex hormones – than those who did not have COVID. “Whether this condition of hypogonadism is permanent or transient is a question that has remained unanswered,” the researchers explained.
Is testosterone suppressed?
They also noted a lower number of Leydig cells, which are located in the testes. They maintain the male reproductive tract, help produce testosterone, and are responsible for spermatogenesis, the production of sperm. The researchers hypothesized that suppression of testosterone “may be one of the reasons for the large difference in mortality and hospitalization rates between men and women, and may also explain why SARS-CoV-2 most often infects elderly men.”
Women, however, also experience sexual and reproductive symptoms, which doctors believe are related to hormones. Dr. Louise Newson, a general practitioner and menopause specialist, recently shared with Vox that she is currently conducting a pilot survey on these symptoms in COVID-19 patients. The results from 842 patients who have responded so far “confirm [her] hunch that long COVID is likely related to low hormone levels (estrogen and testosterone), which has been neglected in research.”
In support of her theory, Newson added that many women notice a worsening of COVID symptoms just before their periods start – when estrogen levels are at an all-time low. She suspects it’s no coincidence that certain long-lasting COVID symptoms, such as brain fog, fatigue, dizziness and joint pain, are also symptoms of menopause.
Although more research is needed to clarify the role of hormones in COVID cases, there is some good news in the meantime. According to Vox, Newson says that anecdotally, patients with long-standing COVID have improved in their menopause clinic with the right dose and type of hormone replacement therapy. Read on to learn more about the connection between the coronavirus and our hormones, and for more shocking developments in COVID, read The One Thing About the COVID Vaccine That’s Surprising Even Doctors.