For men, anything going wrong with their sexual health can not just push them into a panic mode because of the medical aspect, but also because it has a deep psychological impact. One such problem is priapism.
What Is Priapism?
Erections are an essential subject to men and their sexual health. The basics of erection suggest that it cannot happen without proper blood flow. So inherently when a man is aroused, the arteries in the pelvis and the penis tend to relax and expand to bring in more blood flow, to the spongy tissues of the penis.
After sufficient blood is made available, the valves of the veins trap this blood, causing an erection. It depends on the valves and their ability to hold the blood for a period, which is mostly how much longer an erection will last. After the exciting period ends, the valves open up again, to let the blood flow out and allows the penis to return to its normal state.
When this blood flow is not healthy, the condition then is known as priapism. This is unusual, yet the widely known situation where the erection lasts for more than four hours, which during its course causes pain and the erection itself does not need sexual arousal in the first place. Priapism is known to happen to men of all ages, including newborns. When somebody has this condition, it’s essential for them to go through priapism treatment.
There are two types of Priapism –
Erections are an essential subject to men and their sexual health. The basics of erection suggest that it cannot happen without proper blood flow. So inherently when a man is aroused, the arteries in the pelvis and the penis tend to relax and expand to bring in more blood flow, to the spongy tissues of the penis.
After sufficient blood is made available, the valves of the veins trap this blood, causing an erection. It depends on the valves and their ability to hold the blood for a period, which is mostly how much longer an erection will last. After the exciting period ends, the valves open up again, to let the blood flow out and allows the penis to return to its normal state.
When this blood flow is not healthy, the condition then is known as priapism. This is unusual, yet the widely known situation where the erection lasts for more than four hours, which during its course causes pain and the erection itself does not need sexual arousal in the first place. Priapism is known to happen to men of all ages, including newborns. When somebody has this condition, it’s essential for them to go through priapism treatment.
Low-flow priapism – This condition also known as ischemic priapism, is when the blood gets trapped in the erection chamber. Research has not been conclusive enough to find out the exact cause of this problem but is widely found in men with the sickle-cell disease, Leukemia or malaria. Priapism treatment of low-flow priapism is vital, for it could cause permanent erectile dysfunction and scarring.
High-Flow Priapism – Also known as non-ischemic is a more rare type of Priapism. This being less painful than the Ischemic priapism, is often caused by an injury to the penis or the perineum, which lies between the scrotum and anus and usually here an artery ruptures, which prevents blood in the penis from moving usually.
What causes Priapism?
Sickle cell anemia – In all, research suggests that about 42% of all men with sickle cell anemia are bound to be affected by Priapism at some point in their lives.
Medications –
Medications play a big part in men being affected by priapism. For instance, many tend to overuse or misuse some medicine or the other. There are many medications like some that help in treating depression or mental illnesses are known to cause Priapism in the long run.
On the other hand, there could be other problems such as an injury to the spinal cord or the genital area or a poisonous bite from spiders and scorpion stings are also known to cause the problem. Doctors also say that carbon monoxide poisoning over time as well as marijuana and cocaine could lead to priapism in men.
Diagnosis
To provide the best priapism treatments, the diagnosis first has to be accurate. Here are several points that doctors look for when they try and diagnose the priapism problem.
- Time an erection usually lasts for the individual
- How long one has had an erection
- History of drug use, legal or illegal
- Medical or injury history.
Additionally, after reviewing the above factors and also conduct a thorough physical examination as a measure to figure out what is causing the problem. There are further tests to check the rectum and belly for any signs of cancer. While there could be other tests conducted by the urologists for screening purposes, such as –
Blood test
Doppler ultrasound
Arteriogram (Type of X-Ray)
How do we treat Priapism
Our main aim is to make the erection go away and ensure that there is the prevention of erectile dysfunction through priapism treatment. Some of the most common treatment options include
- Ice packs that could bring the swelling down, especially for high-flow priapism
- Removing the blood from the penis with the use of a needle to relieve the pain and swelling.
- We also would be able to perform a minimally invasive surgical method that could help in draining out the blood from the benefits.
- Medications are also an option, which could be injected into the penis for it could help erectile tissue response, and improve the penis return to the non-erect state.
- Other advanced procedures might be required in certain conditions. Methods such as surgical shunting, which creates a channel for the blood to flow back into the body.
- Non-Ischemic priapism, however, is mostly managed through careful observations, because it is not an emergency condition. In the case that the issue does not resolve within a stipulated period, then surgery might be required to correct the same.