What is Peyronie's Disease and How It Can Be Treated?

Peyronie’s disease cause erections that are not only curved but also painful at the same time. Sometimes, this disorder goes away on its own but can be treated with options like surgery, injections, and exercises.

What do you understand by Peyronie’s disease?

Peyronie’s disease is a noncancerous condition resulting from fibrous scar tissue. It develops in male sexual organs and causes curved and painful erections in men. 

Male sexual organs can differ in shape and size while having a curved erection isn’t essentially a cause of distress. Nevertheless, this medical disorder can lead to a noteworthy bend of pain in some men.

Peyronie’s disease also stops you from involving in sexual activity or causing trouble in attaining or maintaining an erection. For several men, Peyronie’s disease might also cause anxiety and stress. Penile shortening is another usual concern.

This disease hardly goes away on its own and for most men suffering from Peyronie’s, the condition remains the same or worsens.

However, with early treatment, you can avoid your condition from getting worse or even improve symptoms.

In case, you had Peyronie’s disease for some time then treatment might improve your bothersome symptoms like curvature, and pain.

Different stages of Peyronie’s disease

If we talk about Peyronie’s disease, there are two stages acute and chronic.

Acute Peyronie’s disease

Acute Peyronie’s disease stage lasts usually between 6 to 12 months.

During this time, a scar forms under the skin of a male sexual organ which makes it curve or change its shape another way.

This condition can be painful if the male reproductive organ becomes erect or soft (flaccid).

Chronic Peyronie’s disease

During the chronic stage, a scar does not grow under the skin of the male reproductive organ. Also, the curvature will not worsen.

In this stage, the pain usually goes away but might continue sometimes, mainly when you suffer from an erection.

Some men might suffer from erectile dysfunction during  Chronic Peyronie’s disease stage.

How common is Peyronie’s disease in men?

It is estimated that 6% to 10% of men between the age of 40 and 70 can suffer from Peyronie’s disease. Though Peyronie’s disease can affect anyone, but it is usually less common at other stages.

Peyronie’s disease can be even more prevalent as several men feel embarrassed to discuss it with doctors. Make sure to consult a doctor once, if you have any concerns about your sexual health.

Know About Related Disorder - Priapism Disorder

Peyronie’s disease: Know its symptoms

Remember signs and symptoms of Peyronie’s disease will not appear suddenly or develop gradually.

Here are some common signs and symptoms of Peyronie’s disease:

Scar tissue

Scare tissues linked with Peyronie’s disease are known as plaque but different from plaque that builds up in blood vessels.

When suffering from Peyronie’s disease, plaque is felt under the skin of male sexual organs as flat lumps.

Shortening of the male sexual organ

As a result of Peyronie’s disease, the male sexual organs can become shorter.

A noteworthy bend to the male sexual organ

Your male reproductive organ can curve upward or downward or simply bend to just one side.

Other penile deformities

In men with Peyronie’s disease, the erect male sexual organs might have tapering or an hourglass-like look with a narrow & tight band around the shaft.

Erection disorders

Peyronie’s disease can cause trouble getting or sustaining erections required for sexual intercourse.

Generally, men report erectile dysfunction disorder before starting their Peyronie’s disease signs.

Pain

Men might undergo penile pain, with or without an erection.

Keep one thing in mind, curvature and penile shortening linked with Peyronie’s disease can worsen slowly.

However, your condition will start soothing right after three to twelve months or sometimes take more time.

Pain during erections often begins to improve within one or two years but scar tissue, curvature, and penile shortening will remain.

Some men can experience improvement in their curvature and pain condition linked with Peyronie’s disease without treatment.

Causes of Peyronie’s Disease

Though the exact cause of Peyronie’s disease is still not clear it is believed that scarring happens after an injury to an erect male sexual organ.

This further lead to abnormal bending during sexual activity with a partner.

Nevertheless, 80% of men experiencing Peyronie’s disease are unable to recall a particular event that caused changes to their penises.

These changes can take place due to small, unrecognized injuries which take place during sexual activity.

As a man, if you have Peyronie’s disease then your risk of developing too much scar tissue in response to small injuries is high.

Not all men who injure their male sexual organs get this disease, genetic or environmental factors can also be responsible.

Can Peyronie’s disease hurt you?

Yes, Peyronie’s disease can be painful. During the acute stage, you will generally suffer from pain.

However, it can also continue in your chronic stage and severity can differ from person to person.

Treatment of Peyronie’s disease

When it comes to Peyronie’s disease in men, there is no cure for it.

Depending upon your symptoms and condition, a doctor will determine the best treatment plan for you.

In case, your male sexual organ curvature is not serious or painful then it will not interfere with sexual activity.

As a result, there is no requirement for treatment. Your doctor might recommend some medicines.

To reduce inflammation and curvature, your doctor will prescribe medications such as aminobenzoate potassium, or vitamin E.

Aminobenzoate potassium is a prescription drug, while vitamin E is available in the market as over-the-counter.

Another treatment option to deal with Peyronie’s disease is an intralesional injection.

Your doctor will directly give a shot into scar tissue and this injection contains verapamil, interferon & steroids.

All these help in breaking down scar tissue effectively and aid new tissue to grow quickly.

Therefore, meet your doctor immediately, if you don’t want Peyronie’s disease to affect your sexual life.