Dr Shirin Lakhani says she receives five enquiries a day about penis injections (Picture: Getty/Metro.co.uk

Could time in lockdown be upping the pressure for men to last longer in bed and have rock-hard erections at a moments notice?

A leading intimate health specialist and doctor, Dr Shirin Lakhani, says shes seen a dramatic rise in enquiries for her P-shot procedure a treatment that sees blood injected into the penis since lockdown came into place.

She reckons this may be down to all the stress of the pandemic from lost income to health-related anxieties causing erectile issues and other struggles in bed, along with dips in sex drives.

But she also believes that all the time cooped up at home might allow previously hidden sexual issues to become apparent to the persons partner.

As a result, Dr Lakhani has seen a huge increase in the number of men getting in touch to ask about her treatment, receiving five enquiries a day since lockdown began.

The P-shot procedure, also known as the Priapus Shot, involves injecting the penis with a patients own platelet rich plasma, which its thought can stimulate the growth of new tissue and increase blood flow, thus strengthening erections and enhancing the peniss appearance, too.

Its similar to the vampire facial youve likely heard about except the needle is going into your penis instead of your face.

The treatment costs 1,200, so yes, its on the pricey side.

A lot of the men Im hearing from have struggled with sexual intercourse for years but have until now managed to hide the fact that they are unable to get an erection or cant ejaculate, says Dr Lakhani. Before lockdown they managed to hide their problem behind the fact that they were tired from work or because they were physically away a lot due to work.

Now though with the country stuck in lockdown problems such as these are impossible to ignore.

Once upon a time sexual dysfunction, or the difficulty by an individual or couple during any normal sexual activity, including pleasure, desire, preference, arousal or orgasm, was very much a taboo subject.

At times like this people are turning to social media more and beginning to realise how many options there are out there to help treat sexual dysfunction. And with studies showing that at least a third of us have experienced these types of problems at some point in our lives, its certainly widespread.

The P-shot is among a large swell in cosmetic procedures aimed squarely at boosting mens genitals, from one type of injection that a surgeon claims can increase the size of a penis by two inches to the trend for getting filler to make the testicles larger.

If you do choose to go down the route of injections or other cosmetic treatments, remember that these are medical treatments that need to be done by a professional in a safe and sanitised setting. Just because were talking about injections rather than in-depth surgery doesnt mean the risks disappear, and getting shots from a dodgy practitioner could leave you with far more severe penis problems than you started with.

But while such cosmetic treatments could help to tweak certain parts of a mans appearance and sexual performance, its vital to explore all options before rushing into any procedure.

Longterm difficulties getting or maintaining an erection can be caused by all sorts of factors, including depression, stress, heart disease, and high cholesterol all of which need addressing by a medical professional.

If erectile dysfunction is a symptom of another issue, its crucial to talk to your GP to get to the root of the problem rather than just tackling one more obvious way an illness might be rearing its head.

Plus, you could end up saving yourself time, pain, and money by figuring out a more obvious cause and solution for problems in the bedroom reducing your stress levels and improving communication with your partner are both free, FYI.

The main thing is that in this day and age no man should suffer these symptoms in silence, says Dr Lakhani. They can not only impact on a man physically but also over a prolonged period of time place a huge pressure on mental health.

Being comfortable in your own skin is a major factor in promoting sexual health. Its not about being perfect, its about body confidence, good health and communication with your partner.

Many men and women dont talk about their intimate health and find it embarrassing to seek help but it doesnt have to be a taboo subject.

We should feel comfortable enough to talk about the issues we experience with intimate health and everyone should be allowed to enjoy sex.

Do you have a story to share? Get in touch by emailing MetroLifestyleTeam@Metro.co.uk.

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Doctor has seen a surge in men asking for penis injections - Metro.co.uk