If none of the age-old or contemporary remedies or fixes for erectile dysfunction are working for you, maybe a spider bite is what you need. Scientists from the Medical College of Georgia say experiments have shown that one side effect of the Brazilian wandering spider’s sting is a four-hour long erection.
According to Dr. Kenia Nunes, a physiologist at the college, the venom of the Phoneutria nigriventer spider contains a mixture of several molecules that can cause priapism—a condition that causes the penis to be continually erect.
Though this story is making the rounds as new, a quick web search shows that the Georgia scientists have been looking into this for some years.
“The erection is a side effect that everybody who gets stung by this spider will experience along with the pain and discomfort,” said study team member Romulo Leite of the Medical College of Georgia in 2007. “We're hoping eventually this will end up in the development of real drugs for the treatment of erectile dysfunction.”
Before you go buying yourself some spiders to try it out, yourself, please note that the other side effects include severe pain, difficulty breathing and possibly death.