Priapism (painful erections)

Priapism is a long-lasting painful erection. It can cause permanent damage to your penis if not treated quickly.

Things you can try yourself

Priapism may get better on its own within 2 hours.

There are things you can try to reduce your erection.

Hospital treatment for priapism

Treatments to help reduce your erection include:

• tablets or injections directly into your penis
• using a needle to drain blood from your penis, done while the area is numbed under local anaesthetic
• surgery to drain the blood through a tiny cut, done while you're asleep under general anaesthetic

Causes of priapism

Priapism most commonly affects people with sickle cell disease .

Less common causes include:

• blood-thinning medicines, like warfarin
• some antidepressants
• recreational drugs, like cannabis and cocaine
• some medicines for high blood pressure
• other blood disorders, like thalassaemia and leukaemia
• some treatments for erection problems