I’ve been watching a lot of football lately (go Patriots!), and of course, I’ve been seeing a lot of those Levitra ads. I have always found that the warning near the end of the commercial strangely comical. I’m sure you’ve all heard it:
In the rare case an erection lasts for more than four hours, seek immediate medical attention.
I’ve seen some articles refer to this as “the warning that’s actually a selling point.”
So, let’s talk about this so-called selling point.
Priapism is no laughing matter. In most cases, there is no defined cause, but it can be associated with may systemic diseases, including leukemia, multiple myeloma, tumor infiltration, spinal cord injury or anesthesia, amyloidosis, spider bites, carbon monoxide poisoning, or malaria. There are many medications that can be associated with this, including psychotropic medications, cocaine or marijuana abuse.
So, what to do if you have an erection for more than 4 hours? Some say that conservative measures like walking up the stairs (to promote an arterial steal phenomenon) as well as ice packs to the penis and perineum can help. If not, then its off to the ER.
Medications like alpha-blockers, methylene blue, and terbutaline have been used with varying success. If these don’t work, then injection therapy should then be considered as well as a urology consult.
So, next time you wonder about the “erections lasting longer than 4 hours” mentioned at the end of those erectile dysfunction ads, wonder no more.
{ 5 comments… read them below or add one }
You know, there are times I am real glad I’m not a guy! And this is definitely one of ‘em!! LOL. Of course, I’m not laughing AT the poor guy who can’t get it down…I’m laughing with him. Yah.
Can you imagine walking around like that for 4 hours? Wouldn’t you get lightheaded or something? Wouldn’t it actually put you OFF of sex for a bit, do you think? Interesting….
About ten years ago, the now-defunct medical drama “Chicago Hope” did an episode in which a man came into the ER with an erection that wouldn’t go away. Things kept happening to him in the hospital; he kept falling, or being knocked over, and eventually he ended up in a short coma from which he recovered fully.
The next season, Fyvush Finkel made a guest appearance as the lawyer from Picket Fences, who was representing this guy as he sued just about every main character on the show for what happened to him.
Just another reason not to use erectile assistance medication. You might end up having Fyvush Finkel as your lawyer.
-Josh Cohen
http://www.multiplementality.com
I think I’ll skip the ice packs to the erection and head straight for the the ER… after calling all my friends and bragging.
Here you can find info about Levitra
lol Erection lasting longer than 4 hours!