Hard truth: Dengue fever may be causing spontaneous erections that last for hours, scientists say
By Social Links forBen CostPublished Feb. 22, 2024, 5:54 p.m. ET
Call it viral-agra. As if having Dengue fever wasn’t already hard enough, doctors in West Africa are reporting that the mosquito-borne virus — often associated with rashes, vomiting and internal bleeding — could also be causing spontaneous erections that can persist for hours.
The theory is based on the story of a 17-year-old dengue patient in Burkina Faso who exhibited the embarrassing side effect, per a study published in “Urology Case Reports.” According to the study, the teen had been hospitalized with kidney damage and acute ischemia — the suppression of blood flow to a certain area — stemming from his condition.
Doctors observed that he had a “soft” erection which had developed spontaneously sans any “sexual stimulation” — lasting for a whopping 18 hours. The case marked the first time this association had been documented in literature. The pros-in-the-know attributed the symptom — known as arterial priapism — to the virus infecting blood vessels in the penis. This caused plasma to leak into the organ, making his manhood appear larger when flaccid.
Thankfully, doctors were able to treat the patient’s condition with an ice pack, causing the blood vessels to constrict, which reduced the member back to its normal size within 48 hours. The initial viral infection, meanwhile, was remedied with antiviral medications. At follow-up appointments three and six months later, doctors observed that the teen was healthy and able to achieve normal erections sans any issues.
While this symptom might seem like a one-off, experts believe that dengue can indeed prompt priapism. ‘Viruses have been linked with priapism in the past including Covid, mumps and even rabies,” Dr Richard Murphy, who advised Doctors Without Borders in Africa for seven years, told the Daily Mail. “So, it is possible that other viruses are associated with it.”
In 2021, a US COVID-19 patient experienced a three-hour erection, which doctors believed was caused by a coronavirus-induced blood clot in his penis.
