You love your man and you do want to have a pleasurable sex with him. But every time you have fun in bed you get obnoxious lesions on the skin, swelling, itching, and it feels as if your lady parts were on fire. Is it crazy to think that you might be somehow allergic to sex? Doctors say it’s very possible. Sex-related allergies are as real as a hangover after a night out with friends. If you have observed some of the symptoms mentioned above during or after having sex, then you are definitely allergic to either seminal fluid, latex, or even tree nuts.
Sperm allergy affects approximately 40, 000 women in the United States alone. It’s called Human Seminal Plasma Hypersensitivity (HSPY), and is a rare allergic reaction to the proteins found in the sperm. Rashes caused by HSPY can be very painful and it can take up to three weeks to heal.
You may discover you are allergic to sperm the first time you have sex. But not necessarily! This type of allergy may occur with one partner, but not with another. Women who have HSPY are not as a rule allergic to the sperm of every man! This means that if a rash breaks out every time you do it with John, it’s probably John who’s to blame for that. It’s one particular protein in John’s semen your body reacts to.
Men find it hard to believe.One reason why some couples separate is that the woman claims she is allergic to her man’s sperm, while he finds this claim preposterous. In such cases, the man is prone to assume that the women is using just a more creative excuse than a headache for not having sex with him.
If you break out shortly after ejaculation it can be caused by something your partner has…ingested.Everything you eat and drink goes directly into the body fluids, including semen. If you have an allergic reaction during and after sex, you should ask your man what medication he is taking because you might be allergic not to his semen per se, but to some of the components in his prescribed drug.
The symptoms may occur after a long period of abstinence.As long as the couple is having regular sexual intercourses, the woman is less likely to feel discomfort. But she can lose her tolerance to the sperm during periods of abstinence due to pregnancy and childbirth. Once the fun part resumes, however, she can have a brutal allergic reaction.
The female’s body defence system mistakes the sperm protein for a foreign body with evil intentions. The scientists don’t know yet for sure what triggers the allergy, but what they are certain about one thing – when the plasma enters the vagina, the antibodies attach to the tissue of the vaginal walls, causing an allergic reaction.
Semen allergy is very often mistaken for yeast infection.When your vagina is itchy, the first thought that occurs to you is: yeast infection. After all, 75% of all women will get at least one in their life. However, with an yeast infection, you’ll have a specific ricotta cheese-like discharge. But if it itches only after sex, it’s definitely an allergy!
You get symptoms only when having protected sex.If this is the case, the good news is that it’s not your partner’s semen that plays the bad guy in the movie. Probably, you are allergic to latex. This, of course, is kind of bummer, but you can always test out latex-free condoms. This type of allergy is also rare: less than 1% of the general population of the U.S. (approx. 3 million people) have it.
Sex toys can also make your bits burn.When choosing a sex toy, you’d better look for such made of surgical silicone, because some sex toys are made of plastic that can cause allergic reaction. Things can get worse if the toy is old. Plus, you may consider natural lubes on your toys.
Allergic to nuts?OK, not just any nuts. Some lubes are made of coconut and almond oil. If you are allergic to those tree nuts, then it’s possible that you get a reaction after lubing up.
Sex allergy can put a lot of strain on any relationship.If you are allergic to your partner (and we don’t mean that in a metaphorical sense), there isn’t much that can be done. There isn’t a cure. You are facing two options here: You either learn to live with it, or… change the partner. Of course, you can also undergo a long and painful procedure called desensitization (during which you get a series of injections of your partner’s purified seminal proteins), but there is no guarantee it will work.
