Here is what happens to your penis as you age

Age is a cruel mistress. On the one hand, it supposedly comes with wisdom, feeling more comfortable in your skin and being liberated from sweating the small stuff.

Then again, it's not particularly celebrated - whereas skin elasticity and a youthful glow is.

It's not just greying, hair-loss, aches, pains and wrinkles to worry about though.

For half of the population, it's also their manhood which shows the effects of the passing years.

Your penis will age, and this is how:

1. It will permanently shrink...

...In a continuous and determined fashion.

This is owing to once-normal and "hearty cells" being replaced by non-elastic fibers called collagen, which cause an overall diminished effect.

One thing which can be done to lessen the effects of the collagen is to keep weight gain down as much as possible - especially around the mid-section.

As weight gain increases around the belly, the fat pad pushes out and a larger penile percentage gets buried under the skin.

2. It will develop a "bend"

With age comes curvature. It's not your fault and there's very little you can do about it.

It's simply because of "repeated trauma" from everyday (maybe) activities like sports and sex. These cause scar tissue to accumulate along the length of your penis.

What's more, this scar tissue does not care for symmetry. "Into your sixties and seventies," Steixner told the site, "it can get worse and worse. I've seen patients (whose penises) look for all appearances like a question mark."

3. It will droop more

In plain talk, as you get older your scrotum droops. This you can thank loss of muscle mass for.

In its most extreme manifestation, this drooping can cause something which Steixner calls "splash down" which is your scrotum hitting the water when you sit to use the toilet.

4. There may be 'performance' issues

Erectile dysfunction can occur at any age, and with 30 million men affected worldwide, it's not an uncommon problem. What causes it, however, is blood loss. As Steixner cheerily puts it, "Having ED is like having a heart attack of the penis.

"And preventing it involves pretty much the same advice you give to someone with a heart condition. Eat well, exercise - control those and you should be fine." Although treatment is big bucks and big business, Steixner does stress that taking care of yourself, health-wise, should mitigate against ED.

5. And what all men should be conscious of

Finally, men should know to check for the signs of prostate and testicular cancer - especially as they age - but skin cancer is also a risk. This is particularly true if you're a fan of sunbathing and tanning in the nude. Steixner also says uncircumcised men are at risk, especially when their personal hygiene could be improved.

It's not a huge number of men who are affected by this, but the long-term consequences are very unpleasant.