Erectile dysfunction has many causes and luckily for many men, in some cases is completely reversible. However, that doesn’t mean that the condition should be taken lightly. In fact, erectile dysfunction is, in many cases, just a symptom of an underlying condition that may imply severe damage to a man’s health.
A 23 year old man from Belgium had his own encounter with this reality when after spending five days suffering with intense night sweats, chills and a fever visited the ER to receive a rather scary diagnosis.
The young man explained to the hospital’s staff how he had been feeling an intense pain in his lower back and pelvis, as well as in his penis and testicles. Furthermore, he was also losing weight, it hurt to pee, and he was experiencing erectile dysfunction too.
After the examination, the doctors realized his lymph nodes were swollen under his left armpit, and when the blood tests showed elevated levels of a marker of inflammation called C-reactive protein whilst the abdominal ultrasound showed an enlarged spleen, and a PET-CT scan showed enlarged lymph nodes in his abdomen the physicians were afraid he could have a late-stage lymphoma.
Lymphoma is a cancer of the white blood cells that can cause night sweats, unintentional weight loss, and swollen lymph nodes. However, after further testing through a biopsy and bone marrow aspiration this theory was ruled out along with hepatitis, syphilis, and HIV. Nevertheless, they did find Bartonella henselae, a type of bacteria that cats can harbor.
As it turns out, the man was scratched by his cat and that’s how he got sick. After taking an antibiotic treatment prescribed by his doctor, the young man successfully recovered from all of his symptoms, including erectile dysfunction.
Although this is an atypical behaviour of this disease it is still a possibility and prevention is key.
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