{"id":232,"date":"2010-09-07T23:30:52","date_gmt":"2010-09-07T23:30:52","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/swofmedia.co.uk\/oscar\/?page_id=232"},"modified":"2014-11-24T16:46:36","modified_gmt":"2014-11-24T16:46:36","slug":"what-causes-priapism","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.oscarsandwell.org.uk\/?page_id=232","title":{"rendered":"Priapism"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>What is Priapism?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Priapism is one of the main complications that is  associated with Sickle Cell disorder.\u00a0 It is a condition that is  considered to be a             painful and persistent erection of the penis without any  sexual desire.\u00a0 It has been stated that between 10 \u2013 40 % of men with  Sickle             Cell will at some time experience Priapism and these attacks  can become tremendously painful.<\/p>\n<p><strong>What causes Priapism?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>This is caused by a blockage of blood vessels in the penis  by the sickling cells, resulting in failure of blood flow back to the  body.\u00a0 Blood             therefore remains trapped in the tissue of the penis causing  severe pain.<\/p>\n<p>Attacks may be triggered by;<\/p>\n<ul type=\"disc\">\n<li>An unusually full bladder, such acute attacks often start during sleep.<\/li>\n<li>Dehydration is a common factor when you do not drink enough fluids.<\/li>\n<li>Alcohol consumption.<\/li>\n<li>Sexual activity<\/li>\n<li>Frequently there is no apparent cause.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Priapism may be short in duration or it may even be prolonged and it presents itself in three main ways;<\/p>\n<ol type=\"1\">\n<li>Recurrent Acute Priapism<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p>This is the most common form of Priapism in which the  patient gets short attacks that subside spontaneously.\u00a0 The patient  usually copes             with the problem and may not seek any medical advice.\u00a0  Most  patients will continue to get these types of attacks throughout their  lives.<\/p>\n<ol type=\"1\">\n<li>Acute Prolonged Priapism<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p>This is a painful erection that does not subside after  several hours (4 \u2013 6 hours) and is an emergency requiring urgent medical  treatment.<\/p>\n<ol type=\"1\">\n<li>Chronic Priapism<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p>This is a rare form of presentation that may follow an  acute episode.\u00a0 In this condition the penis remains in a semi erect  position and             there is no pain.<\/p>\n<p><strong>What measures can I take during an attack?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Many patients tend to manage the short term episodes at  home.\u00a0 Different patients have reported             that they use different methods to overcome acute episodes  whilst at home, these range from emptying the bladder, warm baths, ice  packs, avoiding             consumption of alcohol late in the night and regular  exercises.<br \/>\nWhile it is important to empty the bladder frequently once  the attack has begun, it is also vital that the individual increases the  oral intake             of fluids to offset any possible contribution of systemic  dehydration.\u00a0 If the episode does not resolve within 3 hours then  medical attention             is needed immediately.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Medical treatment and follow up reviews<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Medical intervention is needed in an emergency situation to assist with emptying the blocked blood             vessel in the penis to relieve the patient\u2019s             pain and discomfort.<\/p>\n<p>Individuals with severe or recurrent attacks are at risk of  developing impotence (failure to have an erection) in the future.\u00a0 This  happens             as a result of damage from the muscle of the penis due to  repeat episodes.\u00a0  This patient group might need to be on regular  medication             which will help prevent the onset of priapisms.<\/p>\n<p>It is therefore very important to see your Doctor and attend out patient appointments for regular reviews.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Other treatment options<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Patients that do develop impotence can have an implant inserted into the penis which could assist in achieving an erection.<\/p>\n<p><strong>What are some of the challenges?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The onset of Priapism is a frightening experience and often associated with embarrassment and\/or guilt.\u00a0 There             is no need to suffer in silence because help is just a call away\u2026..<\/p>\n<p><strong>Important: Avoid activities which precipitate acute attacks!<\/strong><\/p>\n<iframe id=\"basic_facebook_social_plugins_likebutton\" src=\"http:\/\/www.facebook.com\/plugins\/like.php?href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.oscarsandwell.org.uk%2F%3Fpage_id%3D232&amp;layout=standard&amp;show_faces=false&amp;width=&amp;action=like&amp;font=lucida+grande&amp;colorscheme=light\" scrolling=\"no\" frameborder=\"0\" allowTransparency=\"true\" style=\"border:none; overflow:hidden; width:px; height:25px\"><\/iframe>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>What is Priapism? Priapism is one of the main complications that is associated with Sickle Cell disorder.\u00a0 It is a condition that is considered to<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"parent":313,"menu_order":4,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-232","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.oscarsandwell.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/232","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.oscarsandwell.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.oscarsandwell.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.oscarsandwell.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.oscarsandwell.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=232"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/www.oscarsandwell.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/232\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":357,"href":"https:\/\/www.oscarsandwell.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/232\/revisions\/357"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.oscarsandwell.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/313"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.oscarsandwell.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=232"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}