What should men do to improve their sex life after recovering from Covid 19?

I have been recovering from Covid-19 for almost a month. I have been infected with Covid-19 for more than 7 days, I have a fever, cough, and fatigue. After recovering from the illness, my body still coughed and was tired for a long time. In particular, I don’t have much desire for sex anymore. Reading newspapers, I heard that Covid-19 affects sexual function, please tell me if this is true and what to do to improve?

VH readers (37 years old, Hanoi)

On January 31, 2020, WHO declared the corona virus disease (2019-nCoV) as a public health emergency of international concern.

Less than 2 months later, on March 11, 2020, the World Health Organization officially declared acute respiratory infection caused by SARS-CoV-2 a global pandemic. As of March 24, 2022, there were 8,338,914 infections in Vietnam, ranking 14th out of 225 countries and territories. SARS-CoV-2 not only affects the respiratory system, but is being shown to be a multi-organ disease, including affecting sexual function.

Not only affecting the respiratory system, the SARS-CoV-2 virus also affects sexual health. SARS-CoV-2 also attacks testes directly in Leydic cells through the mechanism with ACE-2; Attacks on small blood vessels in the penis, impairing blood vessel function, reducing penile perfusion, causing erectile dysfunction.

Dr. Pham Minh Ngoc examines the patient

Besides us, under the influence of social distancing, isolation, treatment, patients have less opportunity to exercise, causing psychological anxiety and depression; increases the risk of depression, causes decreased libido, sexual dysfunction. Long-term sequelae of Covid-19 in the lungs such as pulmonary fibrosis can cause hypoxia in the penile blood vessels, causing poor erection.

People with Covid-19 can have lingering symptoms, such as fatigue, for months after contracting the virus. Over time, these health effects can still affect sexual function. People with respiratory problems after Covid-19 may become too tired, short of breath during sex.

After contracting Covid-19, men should pay attention to their bodies, especially in sexual matters. If there are symptoms such as fatigue, loss of concentration, lethargy, decreased libido, sexual frigidity, poor erection… let’s change our lifestyle in a healthy direction. That is not smoking, not drinking alcohol, beer, not using stimulants, addictive substances.

You should exercise at least 15-20 minutes/day, do exercises to improve lung ventilation; eat more fruits, fiber; Limit foods high in fat, fast food, fried food, fat, animal organs. If after a period of time the above symptoms do not improve, you should immediately go to a specialized orthopedic facility for examination. Here, the specialist doctors will, depending on the case, perform a number of evaluation tests such as testosterone hormone, Doppler ultrasound of penile vessels, blood sugar, blood fat, kidney function… suitable.

The Covid-19 pandemic and its consequences have had unprecedentedly powerful impacts at both the macro-society level such as the economy and policy, and the micro-society level as on mental health. and human sexual health.

Health is a state of complete physical, mental, and social well-being. Sexual health plays an important role in the composition of health. Hopefully, the doctor’s sharing will help you read ways to improve and recover quickly after Covid, especially in terms of sexual health.

Dr. Pham Minh Ngoc (Specialist in Andrology, Hanoi Hospital of Andrology and Infertility)