Share

5 scary things that happen to your penis when you age

accreditation
Five things that can happen to your penis as you age.
Five things that can happen to your penis as you age.

You may be healthy and active, but that doesn’t mean your penis won’t be experiencing these insane changes as you get older.

This is not a story about potential risks or “Any of These Crazy Penis Conditions” that happen when, say, you “accidentally” put your dong in a hay bailer. (For the record, please don’t do that. Ever.)

These are things that will, in all likelihood, be happening to your manhood eventually.

Read more: The vitamin you need so your penis can perform

We spoke to Brian Steixner, MD, the director of the Institute of Men’s Health for the Jersey Urology Group, and asked for all the uncomfortable details. Brace your young self for a look forward into how the ravages of time will take their toll.

1. The Droop

According to Dr Steixner – and verified by the naked guys over 70 shuffling around every health club locker room coast to coast – your scrotum will droop as you get older.

It’s an unavoidable aspect of manly ageing thanks to a loss in muscle mass. At its most extreme, you develop what Dr Steixner calls “splash down” syndrome, which is exactly what it sounds like.

When you sit to use the toilet, your scrotum actually hits the water.

There’s hope, however, thanks to an increasingly popular procedure called scrotoplasty. That’s right, you can get a sack-job and spare your septuagenarian self the indignity of the splash down.

Read more: 6 penis problems and solutions

2. There will be shrinkage – permanent shrinkage

No, not the out-of-the-pool constriction we all know. This is a persistent, progressive loss of size as you age.

What does that equation look like? Normal cells, once hale and hearty, get replaced by non-elastic fibres called collagen, which just sort of reel in the whole apparatus.

Want to make it worse? Keep building up that beer gut. As your belly gets bigger, the fat pad pushes out and a larger penile percentage gets buried under the skin. Gain weight, loose length. Simple math.

“For every 30 pounds [13.6kg] you shed, you add an effective half-inch [1.27cm] in length,” says Dr Steixner.

3. Going around the bend

Into your autumn years, you develop curvature. You’ll dogleg left. You’ll pull right.

Thanks to repeated trauma from seemingly harmless things like sports and sexual activity, scar tissue is accumulating along the length of your penis.

And if that isn’t unsettling enough, this scar tissue does not build up symmetrically. Where you were once an arrow, you become a bow.

“Into your 60s and 70s,” says Dr Steixner, “it can get worse and worse. I’ve seen patients (whose penises) look for all appearances like a question mark.”

Mercifully, there’s help for punctuation mark syndrome. Today, injectable medicines help release the accumulated plaques anchoring the scar tissue holding your penis in that curve.

Read more: Embarrassing penis questions answered

It’s actually a botulinum toxin that does the trick. That’s right, botox injections. Down below. Bite your lip and think happy thoughts.

4. Erectile dysfunction

There are more than 30 million men with ED, and the reason behind it boils down to blood loss.

“Having ED is like having a heart attack of the penis,” explains Dr Steixner. “And preventing it involves pretty much the same advice you give to someone with a heart condition. Eat well, exercise – control those and you should be fine.”

Contending with ED is a billion-dollar market, with treatments from prescription pills and injections to boost blood flow, to penile implants designed to give men a natural erection without medicine.

“If you take care of yourself, however, you can avoid all that,” Dr Steixner says. “I have patients in their 90s who have perfect erections because they’ve taken care of themselves.”

Read more: Drink this if you’re worried about erectile dysfunction

Finally, some encouraging news.

5. The Big C

Most men are familiar with the very real risks of prostate and testicular cancer, and symptoms of these are something to watch for as you age.

But there’s also a risk of skin cancer on the penis itself, especially if you’re a nudist or like to frequent tanning beds au natural.

Also, men who are uncircumcised but remiss in their personal hygiene can create conditions that contribute to skin cancer.

“Stay out of tanning beds, and if you are uncircumcised, keep the hood clean,” urges Dr Steixner.

What’s the worst that can happen? Don’t ask.

Okay, you asked: “In extreme cases, a complete removal of the penis is required,” Dr Steixner says. “It happens. Maybe once a year. I have a patient – ”

Stop there, doc. Please. Just stop there. No tanning beds. Stay clean. We got it.

As for the less horrifying, more likely changes we talked about at first, know that as you age, your testosterone levels will decrease. That means slight but consistent loss in size.

In other words, your old man penis is going to last longer, but get shorter.

Ponder that good-news/bad-news scenario at your retirement party. And don’t forget that it could be worse. So, so much worse.

This article was originally published on www.mh.co.za

Image credit: iStock

We live in a world where facts and fiction get blurred
Who we choose to trust can have a profound impact on our lives. Join thousands of devoted South Africans who look to News24 to bring them news they can trust every day. As we celebrate 25 years, become a News24 subscriber as we strive to keep you informed, inspired and empowered.
Join News24 today
heading
description
username
Show Comments ()
Editorial feedback and complaints

Contact the public editor with feedback for our journalists, complaints, queries or suggestions about articles on News24.

LEARN MORE