IF YOU HAVE "AN ERECTION LASTING LONGER THAN FOUR HOURS," WHAT CAN REALLY HAPPEN TO YOU?
Laurence Boss, Vicksburg, MS
Four hours of full-on boner jams is cause for alarm, indeed. Docs call it priapism, and it can be caused by a blood disease, Viagra, or even a black widow spider bite. Dr. Elizabeth Houser of the Urology Team in Austin, Texas explains, “Besides being painful, erections lasting longer than four hours can damage erectile tissues in the penis.” Houser goes on: “Lactic acid and free-radical buildup from trapped red blood cells can cause lasting scarring.” What’s more, adds Dr. Domeena Renshaw, director of the Loyola University Health System Sex Clinic, priapism can lead to gangrene of your junk—or, as we like to call it, “wangrene.” Man, that one always kills us!