Papaverine is an alkaloid with interesting vasodilatory and spasmolytic properties; it is extracted from opium but does not produce any narcotic effects. In practice, papaverine has the ability to dilate veins and arteries, making them more capacious and facilitating the flow of blood inside them; this action can help to increase the blood supply to organs such as the heart and brain.
Papaverine, especially before the advent of viagra, was widely used as a powerful remedy for erectile dysfunction; for this purpose it is administered inside the corpora cavernosa, producing vigorous erections within 5-20 minutes. All thanks to its vasodilatory effect, which increases blood flow to the penis by producing and sustaining an erection for about an hour. However, this practice is not divorced from risks and unwanted reactions; ignoring the certainly not marginal problem of making an injection in such a pudendal area, and its psychological repercussions, the injection of papaverine in the corpus cavernosum of the penis can produce local complications (cavernosites, priapism, hematomas, fibrosis, penile deviations) and systemic (orthostatic hypotension, increase in liver enzymes and headache). Papaverine injections should not be used as sexual aid in men who do not have problems with erectile dysfunction; improper use can in fact cause permanent damage to the penis with loss of erective capacity. Papaverine is sold in 40 mg vials in 2 ml of solution; it starts normally with a dose of 10 mg and the result is evaluated in terms of rigidity and penetrative capacity with the doctor; obviously, before performing the papaverine injections independently, a learning training and a preventive andrological visit are necessary.
To stimulate penile erection, papaverine is sometimes combined with two other substances with a similar action, which enhance its effect: phentolamine and alprostadil.
