Priapism Definition, Reason, Symptoms, Treatment & Prevention
Definition
Priapism is a condition where the erection of the penis is prolonged and against the will of the person experiencing it. Priapism is generally not associated with sexual activity.
The dangerous thing about this condition is that there is a risk of damage to the penile tissue if the priapism occurs for a long time. Priapism is rare or rare, but mostly experienced by people aged 20-50 years.
There are three types of priapism, namely:
- Ischemic type of priapism. This type occurs due to trapped blood in the penis after erection. There is no definite cause for how this condition occurs. But generally, this type of priapism is experienced by many men who suffer from sickle cell disease (sickle-shaped red blood cells) or leukemia.
- Recurrent type of priapism. This type of priapism is very rare. It usually affects men who suffer from anemia, a type of sickle cell disease (sickle-shaped red blood cells).
- Non-ischemic type of priapism. This condition is also quite rare. This type is caused by an uncontrollable flow of blood in the penis. Generally, this is triggered by an injury to the penis or the scrotum and anal area.
Priapism Symptom
The main symptom of priapism is a prolonged erection. Generally, this erection appears suddenly, without being triggered by sexual arousal or sexual activity. As a result of continuous erection, the penis will feel pain.
If this happens for a long time, over time the penile tissue will be damaged and die. Later in life, the penis becomes less sensitive to sexual stimulation and erectile dysfunction can also occur.
Priapism Reason
There are various causes of priapism. Some of them are:
- Medication side effects. Several types of drugs are known to affect the nerves in the penis. These nerves will stimulate the blood vessels in the penis to enter a lot of blood into the penis and cause an erection.
- Psychoactive substance. Cannabis, cocaine or ecstasy users can experience this disease.
- Sickle cell type anemia. Sickle cell anemia is a rare type of anemia. But studies note that more than 40 percent of people with sickle cell anemia have had priapism.
- Blood disorders. Blood disorders such as leukemia and multiple myeloma are known to cause this disease as well.
Priapism Diagnosis
To confirm the presence of priapism, the doctor will conduct a detailed medical interview and physical examination. The doctor will assess the condition of the penis to see the severity of the priapism that occurs.
To find out what causes priapism, sometimes additional investigations are needed. Types of supporting examinations that can be carried out include blood tests, ultrasonography (USG), or toxicological examination of the urine.
Priapism Treatment
The golden period of treatment for priapism is 4 hours. That is, whenever possible priapism should be treated no later than 4 hours, starting from the appearance of symptoms. If more than 4 hours, complications of erectile dysfunction are very likely to occur.
To treat priapism within 4 hours after the incident, a decongestant drug will generally be given. Although generally used to treat colds, this drug also has the effect of reducing blood flow in the penis so that it can reduce erections.
If that doesn’t work, more invasive measures are needed. One way is by aspiration using a syringe. This action is performed by inserting a needle into the penis to ‘suck’ blood in the penis to reduce erection.
If this action still doesn’t work, then surgery sometimes needs to be done. The purpose of the operation is to drain blood from the penis to another place so that blood does not continue to collect in large quantities in the penis. If handled quickly, the penis experiencing priapism will be able to recover as before.
Prevention
Not all incidents of priapism can be prevented. One of the preventable causes of priapism is the use of psychoactive substances. Therefore, avoiding drug use will reduce the risk of developing priapism.