Ten Men Suffer Prolonged Erection

The Korle-Bu Teaching hospital has recently recorded 10 cases of men who have had prolonged erection (priapism) for days as a result of consuming aphrodisiac substances, according to the Food and Drugs board.

Most of the aphrodisiacs substances which have been found to be fake, are in the form of tablets, containing synthetic compounds which are dangerous.


Deputy Chief Executive Officer of the board, Rev. Jonathan Martey, disclosed this at a seminar in Accra. The seminar was organized for players in the pharmaceutical industry and law enforcement officers on the theme: Towards a global partnership for safe medicines”. Rev. Martey expressed concern about the rate at which fake drugs purported to enhance male sexual powers were being advertised and sold. He said in some instances, some of the victims had erection for weeks until they were operated on.

He said praipism is most often diagnosed after penile erection had persisted for more than four hours, although in some men, erection associated pain may occur much sooner. Public awareness of this condition has increased in recent years as a result of advertisement for medications that enhance erectile function, he said and warned potential users to beware of erections that last more than four hours.