Health3 min(s) read
Published 15:30 02 Jun 2026 GMT
It has been revealed that new unregulated tanning products can have a hard-hitting effect on men’s members.
Doctors and dermatologists have released an urgent warning that taking Melanotan II, a product that helps users tan rapidly, can result in, among other dangerous side effects, not being able to shift an erection for up to 30 hours.
One arguably unlucky user reported that he ended up with priapism, a long-lasting and painful erection after taking the synthetic hormone-like peptide. The condition can result in permanent damage if left untreated.
Usually, priapism impacts people with sickle cell disease, but tampered medications or illegal substances can also trigger the condition.
Charity Cancer Research UK explained how Melanotan II works in a statement that reads: "It stimulates the pigment cells in your skin to produce more melanin, and this makes the skin look darker.
"Melanotan nasal sprays and injections are not safe to use. Melanotan products have not been tested for safety, quality or effectiveness. So it is not known if using them causes side effects and how serious they are."
According to a case study published in the journal Sexual Medicine in January 2021, alongside “generating a sunless tan through melanocyte induction”, the tanning drug can “also be used as a sexual stimulant”.
The study’s authors, a group of doctors in Miami, also revealed that Melanotan II "has been investigated as a possible treatment agent in erectile dysfunction".
The 55-year-old patient at the centre of the case study allegedly arrived at the ER with a “painful, sustained penile erection” that had been ongoing for 30 hours when he arrived.
While he was being assessed, he told medical staff that he had been injecting the drug to darken his skin for over six years and, immediately after it entered his system, he would experience a hard-on that “lasted a few minutes”.
The report explained that the man’s erection began to “visibly decrease” after they treated him, but would shoot back up “within a couple of minutes".
In the end, surgical intervention was required to get rid of the man’s erection, but 15 weeks later at a follow-up appointment, “he reported a degree of new onset erectile dysfunction”.
While another case study also discussed how Melanotan II caused “clinically apparent erections” in 8 out of 10 men with erectile dysfunction, it is certainly not recommended as a quick fix, as it could leave you standing to attention for far longer than required.
Even the thought of treatment for unshakable erections could be enough to lose your libido permanently, as doctors have to drain blood from the penis - either with needles or by making a small cut.
So, no matter how badly you want to look bronzed for the beach, perhaps think twice before injecting Melanotan II, or you could permanently lose your ability to get a bonk on.
