When to see a doctor

Get emergency care now if

An erection has lasted more than 4 hours, with or without stimulation. This is priapism. Tissue starts to be damaged after about four to six hours, and waiting risks permanent erection problems. Go to an emergency department now.
Chest pain, pressure, or severe breathlessness during or after sex. Call 911. Sex is exercise, and this is how a heart problem can show itself.
A snap, sudden pain, swelling or bruising of the penis during sex. A fracture needs surgical care quickly.

In the US, call 911. Outside the US, call your local emergency number.

See a doctor soon if

None of these is a reason for panic. Each is a reason to make an appointment, because the cause may be physical and treatable, and because an app cannot check it.

Your erections fade or do not come, most of the time, for a few weeks or more, especially if you also get breathless or feel chest tightness on stairs or brisk walks.

Persistent erection trouble is an early warning for the heart. Across 14 studies and 92,757 men, it went with about 44% higher risk of a cardiovascular event, often years before any other symptom (Vlachopoulos 2013). Finding out early is good news: it is treatable.

Ask your doctor for a cardiovascular check.
Your erections stopped suddenly and completely, especially after an injury or a new medication, or if morning erections have gone.

A sudden, total change can point to a blood-vessel, nerve or medication cause that needs a proper look.

See a doctor within days. Do not stop a prescribed medication on your own; talk to whoever prescribed it.
Erection trouble plus unusual thirst, peeing a lot, unexplained weight loss, or known diabetes.

About half of men with diabetes have erection trouble, and it can be the first sign that blood sugar is high (Kouidrat 2017). A blood test is quick.

See a doctor and ask for a blood-sugar check.
Pain with erections, a new bend or curve, or a lump or hard patch you can feel.

This is the picture of Peyronie’s disease, and early review by a urologist gives the most options.

Ask for a referral to a urologist.
Blood in your semen or urine, a lump or pain in a testicle, or trouble peeing.

These are outside anything a training app can help with, and some of them are time-sensitive.

See a doctor.
You finish sooner than you want and it has not changed after weeks of practice, or it started recently along with erection trouble, pain or urinary symptoms.

A doctor can check for causes and talk through options the app does not offer, including prescription treatments (Althof 2014).

Book an appointment and bring your Raisin progress if it helps you explain.
Low desire together with tiredness, low mood, fewer morning erections, or loss of muscle or body hair.

This cluster is worth a testosterone test and a check for other causes, such as sleep or thyroid problems (AUA 2018).

See a doctor. Do not buy a supplement instead.
Loud snoring, daytime sleepiness and erection trouble together.

Most men with untreated sleep apnea have erection problems, and treating the apnea helps both.

Ask about a sleep study.

If you are low, hopeless or thinking about harming yourself

Sexual problems and low mood feed each other. Erection trouble roughly triples the odds of depression, and depression makes erections harder (Liu 2018). That is a loop, not a verdict, and there are people whose job is to break it with you.

Please talk to someone today. If you are thinking about hurting yourself, use the lines below rather than the app.

Crisis resources

Free, confidential, and open all day, every day.

Outside the US, contact your local emergency services or a crisis line in your country.

If you have been sexually assaulted, the National Sexual Assault Hotline is 800-656-4673 (RAINN, US).

What Raisin does about this

The app asks the red-flag questions itself, in the first session of the erections program and whenever a check-in suggests it. If any apply, it pauses and points you to a doctor before you continue. The coach does the same, and it gives you the lines above if you mention harming yourself.

Being sent to a doctor is not a setback in the program. It is the competent move, and it is the one most men skip.

Raisin is educational, and for adults

Raisin provides educational content and behavioral coaching for sexual wellbeing. It does not provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment, and it is not a substitute for care from a doctor, urologist, sex therapist or other licensed professional. Its check-ins are adapted from screening tools; a score is not a diagnosis. Never delay seeking care because of something you read in Raisin.

Raisin is for adults 18 and over. If you are under 18, please do not use it. Sexual health services for young people exist in most places, and a school nurse, family doctor or clinic can point you to one.