Priapism is in a sense the opposite of erectile dysfunction as it is a condition in which a man is unable to get rid of an erection. The condition can be extremely painful and may even cause permanent penile damage if it continues for more than four hours. It often occurs in the middle of the night and just doesn't disappear by the morning as is normal. There are a number of ways to deal with Priapism all of which are medical. Examples are injections of alpha agonist into the penis, the supression of hormones and sometimes the using of a penile prosthesis is necessary.

Extensive priapism can eventually effect erectile function and there are two different forms of priapism called ischemic and non-ischemic priapism. The first form is usually due to a reaction to a drug and men with sickle cell diseases are often affected. The other type (non ischemic) is normally due to a incident of trauma and both types can occur just once or be a regular event as often as daily.

It would seem to be common sense that those people suffering from priapism should not under any circumstances take Viagra or any erectile dysfunction medication. However recent research conducted in the USA at the John Hopkins University seems to suggest that the use of Viagra may actually help cure the priapism. In the study four men who had a problem with frequent and sustained erections were given Viagra once a day or Cialis thrice weekly over a number of months. The response to the treatment was good with all the patients saying that within three months the attacks of priapism were very rare and much reduced.

Viagra and Cialis are both PDE-5 inhibitors and the researchers are of the opinion that they help to reset the dysregulation of the penile function thus restoring and protecting the sexual function. The research is bound to raise eyebrows in medical circles as it flys in the face of normal medical sense.

If further research can definitely prove the efficacy of Viagra and Cialis in treating priapism then the wording on the Viagra and Cialis labels will be able to be changed to incude priapism patients and will be able to be prescribed solely for priapism. It must be remembered that this research only involved a small number of participants and therefore further research is needed before Viagra and Cialis can be safely presecribed in priapism patients.