If you see these big warning signals, you might be allergic to s** with your spouse.
People typically think that minor irritation after s** is normal, but experts say that in some situations, these symptoms could be a sign of a less well-known but surprisingly widespread illness.
Some people call s**inal plasma hypersensitivity (SPH) a s**en allergy.

SPH is thought to be rare, although it may not be diagnosed as often as it should be.
Dr. Michael Carroll, an associate professor of reproductive science at Manchester Metropolitan University, says that this illness isn’t caused by the sperm itself but by the fluid that surrounds it.
SPH was first reported in 1967 when a lady was hospitalized after having a “violent allergic reaction” to s**. It is currently known as a type 1 hypersensitivity, which is the same category as hay fever, peanut allergy, and cat dander. Carroll said in The Conversation.

There can be a lot of different symptoms. For some women, these include localized pain, itching, burning, swelling, or redness in the g**ital area.
Some people may have more serious systemic responses, such as hives, trouble breathing, or even anaphylaxis. These effects usually happen soon after coming into contact with s**en.
People used to think that SPH was quite unusual.
Carroll said that “until 1977, SPH was thought to affect fewer than 100 women around the world.”

More recent research, on the other hand, tells a different narrative.
Dr. Jonathan Bernstein, an allergist, led a study that indicated that almost 12% of women who said they had symptoms after s** were likely to have SPH.
Carroll’s own unpublished poll from 2013 found a comparable percentage, which suggests that the disease might be more common than people thought.
One major indicator is that symptoms typically go away when c**doms are used.
Sadly, it’s easy to confuse SPH with other problems including yeast infections, s**ually transmitted infections, or just plain irritation, which can lead to a wrong diagnosis or dismissal.

Prostate-specific antigen (PSA), a protein made by the prostate, is the main allergen implicated.
Interestingly, PSA has a similar structure to proteins found in other allergens, such as dog dander. This means that some women who are allergic to dogs may also be allergic to s**en.
Men aren’t completely off the hook either.
Carroll talked about a rare disorder called post-org**mic illness syndrome (POIS), which makes men feel sick like they have the flu after they ejaculate.
A case report in the American Journal of Case Reports talked about a man who had muscle soreness, exhaustion, and sneezing after org**m.

SPH doesn’t directly make it impossible to get pregnant, but it can make it harder to do so.
Carroll says that avoiding exposure, which is what most people with allergies do, isn’t a good way for couples who want to get pregnant.
You can treat this by taking antihistamines before s**, utilizing anti-inflammatory drugs, or going through desensitization therapy with diluted seminal plasma.
Couples may use “washed” sperm for IVF in more serious circumstances. This removes the proteins that cause allergies.