An eye-watering tale to make every man squirm… 44-year-old gets an agonising blood clot in his penis after going for a ‘prolonged’ run

• The unidentified man from Slovakia had suffered two days of painful erections
• Medics who treated him said he experienced a partial segmental thrombosis

A man was left in agony after going for a run — because it triggered a blood clot in his penis.

In a medical tale guaranteed to make all men squirm, doctors revealed the 44-year-old developed a painful lump on his member the day after a ‘prolonged’ jog.

The man, an amateur marathon runner, also complained about getting erections in the night.

Yet he didn’t seek help for two days, according to Slovakian medics who shared his eye-watering story in a journal.

Scans revealed he had a clot in his corpus cavernosum, two sponge-like tubes that run through the penis and fill with blood to get men erect.

The phenomenon has only been reported a few dozen times in literature. 

While the man’s symptoms have eased, check-ups showed that he still had the clot three years later.

Medics at Bory Hospital in Bratislava said the man, who wasn’t identified, had a ‘firm, painful and fixed resistance’ in his right corpus cavernosa.

He was rushed for an emergency MRI scan, which showed he had 18mm-wide blood clot. 

Doctors prescribed him blood-thinners and painkillers to take daily.

One week later, his pain had eased.

However, the clot was still present and he was given daily injections of a medicine that prevents clots from getting bigger or breaking down and moving to the lungs, which can be life-threatening.

MRI scans both one and six months later showed the clot had reduced in size. 

Checks three years later still detected the clot, however.

But the man had no symptoms and could develop an erection, doctors said.

Writing in the journal Urology Case Reports, doctors said they were aware of just 56 cases of clots in the corpora cavernosa reported in medical literature.

It was most common among men under the age of 30, with micro-trauma to the tissue often the cause. 

Sport, ‘vigorous sexual activity’, drug and alcohol abuse or medical conditions including sickle cell anaemia and thrombophilia, are among other frequent causes, they wrote.

The medics said treatment with painkillers and anti-clotting medication produces similar results to surgery.

Blood clotting is when blood coagulates to form a plug. It is this process that stops bleeding following a cut or injury.

However, it can be dangerous if clots form in the veins. Those who are overweight, smoke or are immobile are at greatest risk.

Counterintuitively, intense and extended running — such as that performed for marathon training — can also lead to clots, most commonly in the legs.

This can be due to inactivity after training, injury caused from repetitive strain to tissue and dehydration, which can cause the blood to thicken, experts say.