A 32-year-old man who is battling persistent penis erection, known medically as priapism, says relatives have abandoned him.

Kwaku Donkor, a sickle cell patient, says his plight has rendered him unable to work to earn a living.

His family members interpret the phenomenon as a curse for which reason they have denied associating with him and have abandoned him.

Male erections can’t happen without proper blood flow. Normally when a man gets aroused, the arteries in his pelvis and penis relax and expand, bringing more blood to spongy tissues in the penis.

At the same time, the valves in the veins close, trapping blood in the area and causing an erection. After the excitement ends, the vein valves open, the blood flows out, and the penis returns to its usual state.

Blood flow that’s not normal can cause priapism, an erection that lasts for more than 4 hours, is usually painful, and may happen without sexual arousal.

This can happen to males of all ages, including newborns.

Scientists think about 42 percent of men with sickle cell disease will get priapism at some point.

Also, many men get the condition when they use or misuse some types of medicine. Drugs that may cause priapism include the depression treatmenttrazodone HCL (Desyrel), or chlorpromazine (Thorazine), which treats some mental illnesses.

The pills or shots that treat ED may also cause priapism.

Other causes include include an injury to the spinal cord or genital area, black widow spider bites and scorpion stings, carbon monoxide poisoning and using street drugs like marijuana and cocaine. 

Mr Donkor who lives at Mpatuam Bontefufuo in the Ashanti Region told Luv News' Kwasi Debrah he has endured the abnormal condition continually for the past five years.

According to him, the latest recurrence, which has lasted two weeks, has left him in unbearable pain.

Frustrated Mr Donkor who says he has lost both parents wears jeans trousers as the only means to hold the troubled manhood in place.

He fears the condition could persist for life because doctors had told him it couldn’t be cured locally.