In the late 20th century before the introduction of Viagra, the first of the new wave of ED medications, men looking for ways to treat their ED symptoms had only a couple of options: penile prostheses and penile injection therapy.
According to Boston University School of Medicine, intracavernosal injections gained popularity in the 1980s as a less cumbersome and awkward alternative to penile implants or prostheses. Even with the availability of the new oral ED medications, injection therapy has “withstood the test of time,” according to BU.
This form of therapy involves the self-injection of a small amount of medication directly into the penis’s corpora cavernosa — twin cylinders of spongelike erectile tissue that fill with blood to make an erection.
Your doctor usually administers the first shots to determine optimal dosing level and then supervises as you self-inject the first few times to be sure you’re doing it correctly. Among the medications used
individually or in combination are alprostadil, papaverine, and phenolamine.