Conditions and symptoms
What Is Priapism? A Medicine Warning Explained Calmly
Priapism · say it: PRY-uh-piz-umAlso written: prolonged erection, persistent erection
Short answer
Priapism is a painful or long-lasting erection that does not go away. It is a medical emergency needing urgent treatment.
What it means
Priapism is an erection that lasts for hours and does not go away, often without sexual arousal, and is usually painful. It is a medical emergency: an erection lasting more than four hours needs urgent medical help, because the trapped blood can damage the tissue of the penis.
Labels for erectile dysfunction medicines, some antidepressants such as trazodone, some antipsychotics and some other medicines list priapism as a rare but serious side effect. The warning is telling you not to wait it out or feel embarrassed, but to get emergency care if an erection lasts too long.
Priapism is different from a normal erection that goes away after sex or with time. It is also different from erectile dysfunction, which means difficulty getting or keeping an erection.
Where you may see it
- Erectile dysfunction medicine labels
- Trazodone and some antipsychotic leaflets
- Emergency department notes
📄 How it looks on a report
Seek emergency medical attention if you have an erection that lasts more than 4 hours.
🙅 What it does not mean
- It is not a sign that the medicine is working well.
- It is rare; being on a label does not mean it is likely.
- Embarrassment is not a reason to delay; emergency teams deal with it routinely.
🗒️ Questions to ask your doctor
💊 Medicines whose labels mention “Priapism”
Plain-English explanations of each medicine, from its official FDA label.
- Risperidone
an atypical antipsychotic medicine
- Sildenafil
A phosphodiesterase-5 (PDE5) inhibitor, a medicine used to treat erectile dysfunction
- Tadalafil
a phosphodiesterase 5 (PDE5) inhibitor, which is a medicine that blocks an enzyme called PDE5
- Tamsulosin
An alpha-blocker medicine. The label calls it an alpha 1 adrenoceptor antagonist that acts on the prostate. The FDA class is not listed.
- Trazodone
an antidepressant of the selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) type, which the label also describes as a 5HT2 receptor antagonist
🔗 Read more from trusted sources
- “Priapism” on MedlinePlus ↗
US National Library of Medicine
Seeing this word on your own report? Get every line of it explained, free.
Explain my report🧩 Related words
🔎 Look up another word
More words: conditions and symptoms
General information about a medical word, not advice about your own results. Ask the clinician who ordered the test what it means for you.