Priapism - what is it? Night priapism: causes, symptoms, treatment

If there is an involuntary erection of the penis, one should suspect that a man develops priapism. What is it and how does the disease manifest itself? This is a serious male pathology, which is characterized by spontaneous erection. It is not related to the sexual stimulation of a man and can last 4 hours or more. This condition is very painful, not passing after ejaculation.

Prevalence of the disease

Priapism (the term appeared on behalf of the god of fertility of Ancient Greece - Priapus) is an infrequent pathology in men (only 0.2%), having sexual disorders and suffering from various urological ailments. Can develop at any age. It is observed mainly in mature men (20-50 years), but also sick boys (5-10 years).

Priapism. What it is? Anatomical explanation

Male penis has three bodies: two cavernous and one spongy. With a physiological erection, the smooth muscles relax. At the same time, blood flow through the arteries to the cavernous bodies increases . The latter swell and squeeze the veins that produce blood from them. This leads to the maintenance of the penis in a state of true erection. In this case, it increases and thickens.

At priapizme because of the strengthened arterial inflow or because of the reduced outflow of a venous blood the process of "softening" of a man's sexual member is broken.

True priapism - what is it? It is characterized by uncontrolled sudden erection of the penis, which can occur in any, even the most inappropriate place. There are two types of true priapism: ischemic and non-ischemic.

There is also chronic priapism, or pseudo-priapism. Other names of this disease: night alternating, sleepy priapism. What is this, we will consider further. The disease is quite rare. Diagnosis lends itself, but its treatment is very difficult.

The causes of chronic priapism

As for the sources of the occurrence of nocturnal priapism, scientists do not agree. A healthy man experiences short-term painless erections in sleep, which last for a second or several minutes. They have a spontaneous character and do not lead to a person's awakening. Even if a man wakes up, then for a moment, and in the morning does not remember about an erection.

With psevdopriapizme violations of the depth and structure of sleep. Such changes provoke a number of neuropsychic disorders. Most patients suffer from neuroses, depression, schizophrenia. Sleep disorders can provoke organic brain damage, where neurotic-like symptoms predominate, a concussion, a concussion.

Patients overly focus on the true erections that occur at night. This increases the course of the disease, in the future, erections already occur under the influence of neurotic disorders.

Sometimes chronic priapism may be a consequence of a previous urethritis, prostatitis, or complication after instrumental urological manipulations (cauterization of the seminal tubercle, urethroscopy). In a significant number of patients with pseudo-priapism, prostatitis is found on examination.

Examination

According to the findings of encephalography made by a patient with nocturnal intermittent priapism, the changes characteristic of depressive states were revealed. Therefore, the question arises: "Chronic nonsupism - what is it?". And the answer can be formulated as follows: psevdopriapizm is not a male disease, but it is the result of a painful increased attention of patients to physiological night erections and anxious expectations. Men confuse cause and effect and blame their own erections for sleep disturbance.

The doctors analyzed endocrine disorders in patients with intermittent priapism. But the changes were not revealed. Despite this, all patients who were prescribed female sex hormones, noted improvement in sleep and easing of night erections. But, unfortunately, after the drug is discontinued its positive effect immediately disappears.

How does night priapism manifest itself? Symptoms of the disease

There is a similarity in patient complaints:

• Almost every night, closer to the morning, often wake up because of a strong erection;
• Sometimes there is an erection during a day's sleep;
• Note pain, a sense of "tide" to the penis and the perineum;
• insomnia;
• In the morning they feel lethargy, weakness, apathy, depression of mood;
• There is less and less a desire for sexual intimacy;
• Reduction in the number of adequate erections;
• During the day, sexual excitability can be increased, an erection appears easily when communicating with the opposite sex;
• Accelerated ejaculation during sexual intercourse.

Course of the disease

The disease has a long course. At the beginning of ailment, night erections occur once a week. Then there is their acceleration and amplification, they can happen from two to five times at night. Pain in the perineum and in the penis with each case increases. Sleep becomes restless, shallow.

Diagnosis of pseudo-priapism

Recognition of the disease and diagnosis of chronic priapism are not very difficult. In contrast to the true priapism of the night is characterized by a decrease in erection after the awakening of a man, after going to the toilet (after urinating or emptying the intestine).

Also, the reduction of erectile stress is favored by: walking around the room, active movements, applying cooled lotions to the penis or prolonged rest and changing the habitual situation. But all these manipulations do not cure the disease, but only relieve suffering for a while.

How to overcome sleepy priapism?

With timely access to the doctors of men who are just beginning to have night-time intermittent priapism, treatment would not be so long. In the early stages, when there is a disturbance of sleep due to spontaneous painful erections, autogenic training, psychotherapy and hypnosis sessions are good.

With the late treatment of the patient for medical assistance, the above methods will not be enough. Therefore, to stop the pathological response of men to nocturnal erections, a long course of treatment with various psychotropic drugs is prescribed.

Patients are forced to take antidepressants ("Pirazidol", "Azafen", "Amitriptyline"), tranquilizers (Seduxen, Elenium, Phenosepium), hypnotics and neuroleptics (Stelazin, Teralen, Etaperazine). . The choice of the drug remains with the doctor. To treatment add sessions of electrosleep and acupuncture.

When identifying men who suffer from pseudo-priapism, and also inflammatory diseases in the genitals, it is necessary to carry out their sanation.