Keeping it Together: Are there microplastics in your penis?

Microplastics are popping up all over the place, including your body. More specifically, in your penis, if you have one.

Hi, I'm David Oliver, one of USA TODAY's wellness reporters. Apologies if you're cringing, but hear me out: A study published this month in the International Journal of Impotence Research found – as far as researchers can tell – the first detection of microplastics in penises. Microplastics are the breakdown products of plastics in our daily lives that are smaller than five millimeters long. Think residue from water bottles or food containers.

The theory is that whether it's drinking from plastic water bottles or from eating food in a plastic container, people are ingesting microplastics that are then deposited throughout the body. They may also be exposed through inhaling these tiny pieces, too, or even directly through the skin. "These particles can penetrate the body directly via the atmosphere, drinking water, and sea salt or indirectly through the food chain," according to the study.

But "there's been a big question as to whether or not these have an effect on people's lives in any way," says Dr. Boback Berookhim, a urologist and director of male fertility and microsurgery at Northwell Lenox Hill Hospital in New York, who was not involved in the study. "There have been a few studies that have actually found microplastics in other tissues within the body, including within the heart and within the testicles."

The research remains inconclusive on how microplastics might affect humans, but it's fair to say that foreign objects of this nature aren't a great sign.

"We're not sure what if anything this means yet, but those plastics don't belong there," Berookhim says. "That's not something that people should have in there."

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