Post-orgasmic sickness syndrome is a rare disorder in which affected men experience a cluster of negative symptoms after ejaculation. A 27-year-old man suffers from it: he is allergic to his own sperm.
- Post-orgasmic illness syndrome (POMS) is a rare disorder in which affected men experience a cluster of negative symptoms after ejaculation.
- These include flu-like symptoms: intense fatigue, stuffy nose, cough, fever, burning eyes, difficulty concentrating, irritability, depressed mood… They can last between a day and two weeks.
- The prevalence of PODS is unknown and difficult to determine, as many affected individuals are unlikely to seek medical attention. So far, nearly 60 cases of men with this syndrome have been identified.
Imagine not being able to feel an orgasm without suffering the martyrdom… This is what a 27-year-old man undergoes with each enjoyment, which is therefore no longer really one. To the point that the man has decided to abstain from all romantic or sexual relations.
His story, told by the DailyMailwas reported by doctors who wrote about her case in the medical journal Urology Case Reports. They said the condition he suffered from, Post Orgasmic Sickness Syndrome (POMS), was often misdiagnosed and patients with the condition could suffer “many potentially unnecessary tests and treatments”.
After each ejaculation, the young man developed flu-like symptoms
The 27-year-old, who has not been identified, suffers from flu-like symptoms every time he ejaculates: runny nose, coughing, sneezing and hives-like rash on his arms . The lymph nodes in his face and neck also swelled and the more he came the worse it got. Symptoms of POMS can also include muscle weakness as well as problems with speech, concentration and memory. After each ejaculation, the symptoms persist between two days and one week. According to doctors, they could be due to an allergic or autoimmune reaction to his own semen.
“Due to the distressing nature of his symptoms, he actively avoided any sexual activity or romantic relationship”, said the team of doctors. To treat his disease, the young man had gone to see a whole series of doctors, including urologists, ENT and even experts in infectious diseases. His testicles had been scanned and he had had his semen and hormones analyzed, but all results were normal. He had also been given antibiotics, to no avail.
Doctors believe that the POMS began in this man around the age of 18, possibly due to an infection or injury to the testicles which allegedly leaked microscopic amounts of semen into the bloodstream. The body would then react to it. Normally, sperm is separated from the rest of the body by a membrane. But if this is damaged, the body can turn against itself, as the body’s immune cells are trained to attack any foreign substance it encounters.
Soon a treatment for post-orgasmic illness syndrome?
“There are special cells called Sertoli cells that nourish and surround the sperm and keep it isolated from the immune cells. When the Sertoli cells are damaged, the sperm is exposed to the immune system for the first time and the immune system attacks the sperm as if it were a foreign virus or bacteria”, explain to DailyMail M. Shanholtzer, student-researcher in medicine.
His team, however, hopes to find a way to help men with POMS after successfully treating the 27-year-old. Indeed, after trying different antihistamines (allergy medications) on their patient, the doctors found that a specific long-acting drug called fexofenadine resulted in a 90% reduction in his symptoms. The young man could perhaps get back to the romance he had since abandoned.
