Consider itching, burning, swelling, and even suffering to respire simply moments after intercourse. For a small however rising choice of girls, that’s no longer an ungainly anecdote – it’s a scientific situation. It’s known as seminal plasma allergy (SPH) – an allergic reaction to semen.
This uncommon however underdiagnosed allergic reaction isn’t caused by means of sperm cells, however by means of proteins within the seminal plasma — the fluid that carries sperm. First documented in 1967, when a lady was once hospitalised after a “violent allergic reaction” to intercourse, SPH is now recognised as a kind 1 allergy, the similar class as hay fever, peanut allergic reaction and cat dander.
Signs vary from delicate to serious. Some girls revel in native reactions: burning, itching, redness and swelling of the vulva or vagina. Others broaden full-body signs: hives, wheezing, dizziness, runny nostril or even anaphylaxis, a probably life-threatening immune reaction.
Till 1997, SPH was once idea to have an effect on fewer than 100 girls globally. However a find out about led by means of allergist Jonathan Bernstein discovered that amongst girls reporting postcoital signs, just about 12% might be labeled as having possible SPH.
I carried out a small, unpublished survey in 2013 and located a equivalent 12% price. The real determine is also upper nonetheless. Many instances pass unreported, misdiagnosed, or brushed aside as STIs, yeast infections, or common “sensitivity”. One revealing clue: signs disappear when condoms are used.
A 2024 find out about bolstered this discovering, suggesting that SPH is each extra not unusual and extra frequently misdiagnosed than prior to now believed.
The issue isn’t the sperm
The principle allergen seems to be prostate-specific antigen (PSA): a protein present in all seminal plasma, no longer simply that of a selected spouse. In different phrases, girls can broaden a response to any guy’s semen, no longer simply their common spouse’s.
There’s additionally proof of cross-reactivity. For instance, Can f 5, a protein present in canine dander, is structurally very similar to human PSA. So girls allergic to canine would possibly to find themselves reacting to semen too. In a single atypical case, a lady with a Brazil nut allergic reaction broke out in hives after intercourse, almost certainly because of hint nut proteins in her spouse’s semen.
Analysis starts with an in depth sexual and scientific historical past, regularly adopted by means of pores and skin prick checking out with the spouse’s semen or blood exams for PSA-specific antibodies (IgE).
In my very own analysis involving symptomatic girls, we demonstrated that checking out with washed spermatozoa, unfastened from seminal plasma, can assist ascertain that the allergic cause isn’t the sperm cells themselves, however proteins within the seminal fluid.
And it’s no longer simply girls. It’s imaginable some males is also allergic to their very own semen.
This situation, referred to as post-orgasmic sickness syndrome (POIS), reasons flu-like signs, reminiscent of fatigue, mind fog and muscle aches, in an instant after ejaculation. It’s believed to be an autoimmune or hypersensitive reaction. Analysis is difficult, however pores and skin checking out with a person’s personal semen can yield a good response.
What about fertility?
Seminal plasma allergy doesn’t reason infertility at once, however it may complicate conception. Averting the allergen – typically among the best remedy for hypersensitive reactions – isn’t possible for {couples} seeking to conceive.
Therapies come with prophylactic antihistamines (antihistamine medicines taken prematurely of expected publicity to an allergen, or sooner than allergic reaction signs are anticipated to look to stop or cut back the severity of allergies), anti-inflammatories and desensitisation the use of diluted seminal plasma. In additional serious instances, {couples} would possibly select IVF with washed sperm, bypassing the allergic cause altogether.
It’s necessary to notice: SPH isn’t a type of infertility. Many ladies with SPH have conceived effectively – some naturally, others with scientific fortify.
So why don’t extra folks find out about this?
As a result of sex-related signs regularly pass unstated. Embarrassment, stigma and a lack of understanding amongst docs imply that many ladies undergo in silence. In Bernstein’s 1997 find out about, nearly part of the ladies who had signs after intercourse had by no means been checked for SPH, and plenty of had spent years being misdiagnosed and getting the improper remedy.
If intercourse mechanically leaves you itchy, sore or in poor health – and condoms assist – you may well be allergic to semen.
It’s time to carry this hidden situation out of the shadows and into the session room.
