For men, any condition that affects their urinary system would most likely adversely affect their sexual health. So, if you are wondering, can urethral stricture cause erectile dysfunction? No, urethral stricture dysfunction does not directly affect your sexual functioning. The stricture's size, length, and location are immaterial because it doesn’t directly cause any harm to your sexual abilities. It is the treatment for these conditions that affect your ability to perform sexually. Even though it may sound shocking, that is exactly how it goes, and there are certain reasons for it. What are these reasons? And how do these conditions directly or indirectly affect your sexual health? Let’s find out.

Impact of Urethral Strictures on Sexual Health

As you now know, urethral strictures don’t directly cause sexual health problems. However, the treatment of urethral strictures, and sometimes even the causes of urethral strictures once healed, can cause sexual health problems in men, namely erectile dysfunction. For women, this is not an issue, and urethral stricture does not affect your sexual health in any way. 

Sometimes, doctors advise women against engaging in sexual activity for some time after a urethral stricture surgery, but other than that, there are no complications relating to sexual health for women. So, what are the treatment options or conditions that impact the sexual health of men with urethral strictures? Let’s find out.

Pelvic Injury

Pelvic injuries are common causes of urethral strictures. However, pelvic injuries upon recovery can cause erectile dysfunction. Why? This is mainly because serious pelvic injuries can injure the sensitive nerves that are placed around your urethra. These nerves respond to your brain signals and create the erection in your penis for sex. If there are damages to these nerves, it can affect your ability to get an erection. Based on the severity of your injury, you can either get partial erectile dysfunction or full erectile dysfunction.

Urethrotomy or Urethroplasty

If you are looking for a permanent treatment option for urethral strictures, it is urethroplasty or urethrotomy. It is a minimally invasive surgical procedure that involves removing the stricture from your urethra by cutting it out. In some cases, if the stricture is long, tissue from a different part of the body is grafted in its place. However, this procedure has some risks involved.

Erectile dysfunction is one of the risks involved mainly because a part of the urethra is cut out to save the patient from further strictures. Men that have gone through this procedure are at a higher risk of ED than healthy men of the same age. However, the risk factors and the effects of urethroplasty on your sexual health doesn’t end there.

As it is an aggressive procedure, it can lead to penile curvature or shortening based on the length and location of your stricture. While the length and curvature of your penis are not a direct proponent to your sexual health, they can affect the patient mentally, causing symptoms of depression, which can impact their libido and sexual health significantly.

Urinary Tract Infections (UTIs)

UTIs can both be caused by and cause urethral strictures. Even though UTIs causing erectile dysfunction are not very common, it is still a possibility. Often UTIs may not directly cause erectile dysfunction, but they affect your libido, which in turn, affects your sexual health. Urethral stricture matched with these UTIs has a higher probability of affecting your sexual health than in people that don’t have these conditions. So, you must go for a diagnosis as soon as you start showing any symptoms to prevent this condition.

How To Deal With The Impact of Urethral Strictures on Your Sexual Health?

The thing you must remember is erectile dysfunction is treatable today. With early diagnosis and dedicated treatment, most types of erectile dysfunction can be treated in a matter of months. These treatments don’t even require further surgical processes and can be easily implemented with guaranteed results. So, if you are showing any symptoms of erectile dysfunction or loss of libido following your urethral stricture treatment, you should discuss it with your doctor. Medical help and getting it early is crucial in helping you regain your sexual health as soon as possible.

Conclusion

You can go through urethral stricture treatment without compromising your sexual health as well. The key is to talk to your doctors regarding what is important to you and figure out a treatment plan that doesn’t affect your sexual health or at least ensures quick recovery. 

To get these benefits, you need to get your treatment from experienced doctors and a medical institution that has the infrastructure needed to get you through the treatment process safely. So, if you are going through any symptoms of urethral stricture, feel free to check out MASSH. We offer highly specialised minimally invasive surgical treatments for urethral stricture and other urological conditions. Visit us today or check out our website to learn more about the treatments we offer.