# nurses and erections question **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [August 30, 2010, 6:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nurses-and-erections-question/551975 "2010-08-30T06:54:24Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2010, 11:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nurses-and-erections-question/551975/41 "2010-08-30T23:48:17Z")
I read somewhere that you straddle it until the only words the patient can say are _Garp_ and _good_. ---
**Author:** ![wolfstu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/d6d6ee/32.png) [@wolfstu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfstu)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2010, 11:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nurses-and-erections-question/551975/42 "2010-08-30T23:52:21Z")
> [@WhyNot](#): > > > [@Mangetout](#): > > > > … and if it works… > > Come on, man! Do some research for us, in the name of Doper Science! 😃 > > (I, sadly, am lacking in the proper equipment.) What, you don’t have any spoons? ---
**Author:** ![wolfstu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/d6d6ee/32.png) [@wolfstu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfstu)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2010, 12:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nurses-and-erections-question/551975/43 "2010-08-31T00:00:47Z")
> [@DrFidelius](#): > > So, anyone with civilian anecdotes less than fifty years old? There were many things done in hospitals a half-century back which are no longer standard prodecures. I have no personal experience, but a friend once told me that this happened when he got an erection during the ultrasound that came with his category 1 aviation medical exam, in 2000. The nurse gave him a whack on the glans and that was the end of that. I can’t vouch for the veracity of this story. ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2010, 12:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nurses-and-erections-question/551975/44 "2010-08-31T00:25:16Z")
Jeez, half the people in this thread can find out for themselves if being flicked with a spoon will deflate an errection, and _no one_ is willing to try it? When thinking about what I’d do if I have a penis for a day while reading [this book](http://www.amazon.com/Dick-Day-What-Would-You/dp/0679773533), science experiments was one of the first things that came to mind 😛 ---
**Author:** ![TubaDiva](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tubadiva/32/507_2.png) [@TubaDiva](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TubaDiva)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2010, 12:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nurses-and-erections-question/551975/45 "2010-08-31T00:51:33Z")
My mother was a nurse in the 1960s-70s and she says yes, she was taught this technique but she was also instructed if someone got “rambunctious” she could call for an orderly and let them sort out the situation. She also says she never encountered this problem and so has no practical experience and no good stories to share, at least not in this department, anyway. ---
**Author:** ![TreacherousCretin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/treacherouscretin/32/476_2.png) [@TreacherousCretin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TreacherousCretin)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2010, 1:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nurses-and-erections-question/551975/46 "2010-08-31T01:02:28Z")
> [@jjimm](#): > > My mother, a nurse during the 1960s, said she and her coworkers used to carry a metal teaspoon around the wards with them in a pocket. A quick whack of the back of the spoon to the bell-end, and no more stiffy. This is what I heard anecdotally as a teenager in the early 60’s, from someone who supposedly knew the whackee. The nurse was all business and matter-of-fact about it, patiently delivering two or three sharp but mild whacks to the friendly weapon, which quickly got the message. . ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2010, 1:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nurses-and-erections-question/551975/47 "2010-08-31T01:15:16Z")
> [@tdn](#): > > > [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](#): > > > > Pathological erections are by definition not real amenable to rapid detumescence by most interventions. Inserting 16 or 18 gauge needles and aspirating out the blood is certainly the quickest and most dramatic way to do so. > > Isn’t injecting saline solution another way to do it? One must get fluid out, not in. Irrigating with saline can help flush out clots if they’re present, but the fluid pumped in must still be aspirated out. Otherwise, increased pressure will accelerate the rate of penile infarct. ---
**Author:** ![Rysdad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/7cd45c/32.png) [@Rysdad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rysdad)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2010, 2:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nurses-and-erections-question/551975/48 "2010-08-31T02:10:48Z")
Whack my peepee, I tweak your nipple. Fair’s fair. ---
**Author:** ![Muffin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muffin/32/4341_2.png) [@Muffin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Muffin)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2010, 2:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nurses-and-erections-question/551975/49 "2010-08-31T02:17:01Z")
> [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](#): > > “Flicking” or slapping it is just silly. And it is assault. ---
**Author:** ![hellpaso](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/ecae2f/32.png) [@hellpaso](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hellpaso)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2010, 2:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nurses-and-erections-question/551975/50 "2010-08-31T02:58:20Z")
LOL! RN for 30 years, here. Never taught the “flick” thing (but I did hear of this anecdotally–it must have happened way before my school in the 70s, tho). Putting in a foley, you just ignored it. In order to really stop an erection (with patients with penile implants, etc., reasons to avoid erections), we were taught to use ammonia capsules. Just one sniff------ ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2010, 3:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nurses-and-erections-question/551975/51 "2010-08-31T03:51:43Z")
What I want to know is why an erection would need to be deflated. Use of a catheter has already been ruled out. And I furthermore balk at the idea that nurses were told to intentionally inflict pain in patients, especially when other methods are always available. Every medical professional I’ve ever met has regarded “Do no harm” as important (whether it was in their oath or not.) ETA: Stupid non-refreshing tabs. ---
**Author:** ![psychobunny](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/54ee81/32.png) [@psychobunny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/psychobunny)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2010, 7:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nurses-and-erections-question/551975/52 "2010-08-31T07:02:36Z")
Not a nurse but in med school we were taught to ignore and go on to another part of the exam, although I suppose a urethral swab might work too but I only do those if absolutely necessary as the male patients apparently don’t enjoy them too much. ---
**Author:** ![MeDrewNotYou](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/838e76/32.png) [@MeDrewNotYou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MeDrewNotYou)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2010, 8:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nurses-and-erections-question/551975/53 "2010-08-31T08:09:22Z")
> [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](#): > > > [@tdn](#): > > > > Isn’t injecting saline solution another way to do it? > > One must get fluid out, not in. Irrigating with saline can help flush out clots if they’re present, but the fluid pumped in must still be aspirated out. Otherwise, increased pressure will accelerate the rate of penile infarct. Penile infarct?!?! Great, you’ve given me enough fuel for weeks of nightmares! Whatever happened to “Do no harm” doc? 😉 ---
**Author:** ![kombatminipig](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/b5ac83/32.png) [@kombatminipig](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kombatminipig)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2010, 8:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nurses-and-erections-question/551975/54 "2010-08-31T08:26:01Z")
> [@Machine\_Elf](#): > > > [@kombatminipig](#): > > > > I’d heard this anecdotally from a friend. He got a flick on the balls by a nurse (in the US) while getting a rectal exam. Not enough to inflict any pain, just enough to minimize embarrassment for all parties. > > How does being flicked on the balls minimize embarrassment for anybody (or did a whole lot of sarcasm just fly over my head)? None. My friend was apparently quite happy about not having an erection while he was being probed. ---
**Author:** ![DrFidelius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drfidelius/32/3447_2.png) [@DrFidelius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrFidelius)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2010, 1:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nurses-and-erections-question/551975/55 "2010-08-31T13:22:58Z")
Embarrassment? Do you know that types of things a nurse has to deal with every day? An untimely erection is NOTHING compared to what they need to do daily for some patients. ---
**Author:** ![Hazle\_Weatherfield](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Hazle\_Weatherfield](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hazle_Weatherfield)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2010, 3:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nurses-and-erections-question/551975/56 "2010-08-31T15:18:16Z")
> [@Sampiro](#): > > I read somewhere that you straddle it until the only words the patient can say are _Garp_ and _good_. :p;) ---
**Author:** ![TerpBE](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bc8723/32.png) [@TerpBE](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TerpBE)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2010, 3:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nurses-and-erections-question/551975/57 "2010-08-31T15:32:30Z")
I know of a guy who suffered a neck injury and was paralyzed. During his long hospital stay, he would occasionally get erections. One day one of the nurses was kind enough to lend a hand and take care of it for him. It wasn’t like a porno fantasy, though. He explained that she wasn’t attractive and performed it in a very clinical way. ---
**Author:** ![Swallowed\_My\_Cellphone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9d8465/32.png) [@Swallowed\_My\_Cellphone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Swallowed_My_Cellphone)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2010, 4:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nurses-and-erections-question/551975/58 "2010-08-31T16:26:06Z")
> [@Joey\_P](#): > > Getting anywhere near that area with a scissors would certainly do the trick for me. Heck, just saying out loud that you might get near the frank and beans with a pair of scissors would cause instant noodle. ---
**Author:** ![TreacherousCretin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/treacherouscretin/32/476_2.png) [@TreacherousCretin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TreacherousCretin)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2010, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nurses-and-erections-question/551975/59 "2010-08-31T17:11:38Z")
> [@DrFidelius](#): > > Embarrassment? > > Do you know that types of things a nurse has to deal with every day? An untimely erection is NOTHING compared to what they need to do daily for some patients. I can imagine. I was assuming the supposed whack treatment would be to ease the _patient’s_ embarrassment. To the nurse/doctor it wouldn’t be much of an issue, if any. But for the patient, especially a teenager or very young man, maybe the embarrassment would be too uncomfortable to ignore, regardless of the doc/nurse’s gender. I’m sure glad it never happened to me. Yikes. . ---
**Author:** ![Zhen\_ka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/ecccb3/32.png) [@Zhen\_ka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zhen_ka)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2010, 5:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nurses-and-erections-question/551975/60 "2010-08-31T17:22:14Z")
Is this technique taught in nursing programs? Is it documented in medical literature? Several nurses and their daughter(s), and patients have given their anecdotal experiences. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nurses-and-erections-question/551975.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nurses-and-erections-question/551975.md?page=4)