Revealed: Almost 40,000 Brits visited A&E for penis or vagina ‘problems’ last year as figure jumps by a third in a year (and that’s on top of 70,000 who got a ‘foreign object’ stuck…)

Emergency departments have seen a rise in the number of patients with broken penises and other sex-related incidents this year.

Tens of thousands sought help removing a 'foreign object' from intimate areas, NHS data showed.

More generally, 'problems' with the penis and vagina have increased by a third within a year.

Analyzes showed that more people were going to the emergency room after contracting sexually transmitted infections and for problems such as prolonged erections.

It's part of a growing trend of patients with more unusual conditions presenting to the country's emergency departments – including an eightfold increase in the number of people suffering from suspected caffeine poisoning.

The rise of coffee culture saw 142 people seek help for caffeine poisoning in 2022/2023, compared to just 18 the year before.

Meanwhile, diseases that would have been eradicated in Britain – such as smallpox and typhoid – have also risen from seven and 94 cases in 2021 to 50 and 215 respectively last year, although they are likely to have been contracted abroad.

Medical leaders said this is further evidence of how busy emergency departments are, which typically see more than a million patients each month.

Dr. Tim Cooksley, chairman of the Society for Acute Medicine, said: 'This data further demonstrates the diversity of presentations that NHS teams manage every day.

“Fundamentally, these patients have urgent conditions that require timely, respectable care and, as for so many patients right now, this cannot be achieved in overwhelmed urgent and urgent care environments that are extremely painful for patients.”

On average, 45,000 people in England visit the emergency departments of major hospitals every day, while a further 24,000 people use small emergency facilities such as walk-in centers and minor injuries units.

A recent NHS report shows that attendance at large wards is 16 per cent higher than a decade ago, with poor access to GPs, mental health services and the growing NHS waiting list often blamed.

The latest analysis of NHS figures shows that attendance for delicate issues is rising faster: the number of people with penis problems has risen by 34 per cent, from 13,911 to 18,592 last year, while 20,675 women needed help with conditions related to the vagina, an increase of 30 percent compared to last year. 15,930 in 2021/22.

In the past twelve months, 73,300 patients underwent a procedure to remove a foreign object after going to the emergency room.

Although these figures include removal of objects in orifices including eyes, noses and ears, the data shows that there were 1,502 visitors for 'foreign body in the rectum' and 5,421 people for a 'foreign body in the vagina'.

Around 373 men needed help for priapism – a prolonged erection of the penis, compared to 342 in the previous 12 months and 272 in 2020/21.

Men are urged to seek emergency medical care if the condition lasts for more than two hours, to prevent 'permanent damage' if home treatments such as a warm bath or shower, taking a gentle walk or urinating do not work.

Another 432 men showed a broken penis, which usually occurs during sex. This was a quarter more than last year.

Doctors also saw a rise in the number of men seeking help for hydrocele – a painful condition where the scrotum becomes filled with fluid, with 2,276 visitors, up from 1,988 the year before.

The data also shows that 1,593 people in England attended emergency rooms last year due to bleeding after sex.

About 2,392 people were treated for voiding syncope – a condition that causes people to feel dizzy, light-headed, or have a brief loss of consciousness when urinating.

Leading emergency doctors said emergency staff are trained to help people with potentially embarrassing problems with “trust and respect” and urged people not to delay seeking help when they need it.

Dr. Adrian Boyle, president of the Royal College of Emergency Medicine, said: 'People go to A&E with a range of problems, including some potentially embarrassing ones. Employees are trained to approach these problems confidentially and with respect.

'It is crucial that patients who are concerned about something and feel they need emergency care, come to the emergency room.

'We don't want patients with potentially important problems to feel put off.

'Some symptoms may be signs of a more serious problem and a visit to the emergency room may be necessary to diagnose that and get the necessary and appropriate treatment.'