People can react in very different ways to orgasm. There are those who laugh out loud, those who burst into tears or even those who faint. There are also people who sneeze uncontrollably. Others even spend several days sick with what seems to be the flu. The latter is what some people know as orgasm allergy, although it is not the most correct term. And that is precisely what happened to a 27-year-old Americanwhose case has just been described in Urology Case Reports.
Actually, the symptoms started when I was 18 years, after suffering from epididymitis. This is a painful inflammation in the tubes that connect the testicle to the vas deferens, through which semen circulates. Something must not have completely recovered and since then, whenever he ejaculated, whether it was masturbating or after intercourse, symptoms flu-likein addition to an annoying swelling of the lymph nodes.
It is true that ejaculating is not the same as having an orgasm, although in men they are generally phenomena that usually go hand in hand. That is why what he suffers from is known as postorgasmic illness syndrome. There are only about 60 cases described in the scientific literature and it is usually known more colloquially as orgasm allergy. But what does it consist of?
This is the allergy to orgasm
The postorgasmic illness syndrome, or orgasm allergy, is a condition that occurs immediately after orgasm and can last from a few hours to several days. The symptoms are also very varied, since they do not consist only of a picture similar to that of the flu, as in the case of the study patient. other patients experience anxiety, gastrointestinal problems, irritability, depression, and even communication difficulties.
It usually occurs in men, although it is considered that there may be a disease equivalent in women. However, only one case has been suspected in the scientific literature since 2016.
For what is this?
Although this patient experienced allergy to orgasm after epididymitis, in other patients it is not so clear what the trigger is. Suspected to be an autoimmune reactionin which the patient’s own defense system reacts against proteins present in your own semen.
On the other hand, there is the hypothesis that is related to a hormonal imbalance. It is believed, for example, that it could be low levels of progesterone, cortisol, or testosterone, or high levels of prolactin. In addition, it could be related to hypothyroidism.
Finally, there is the suspicion that it is related to some chemical imbalance in the brain. Be that as it may, there is no clear reason, which makes treatment more complicated.
Still, alternatives such as gradually exposing patients to small, increasing doses of their own semen have been tried. Also, in case that suspicious hormonal imbalance is detected, it could be tried compensate with drugs.
But none of those was the option used by the doctors who treated the young man in the study. In his case, since his symptoms were purely allergy-like, he was given an antihistamine free sale, which managed to reduce symptoms by 90%. Recovered in this way, he was able to return to the sexual life that during all this time he had abandoned out of fear. Perhaps another patient would not have worked this treatment against allergy to orgasm, but it did for him. What is clear is that each case must be seen separately. And that it is important to make the condition known; since, precisely because of how rare it is, it is suspected that it could be very underdiagnosed.