SEMEN ALLERGY V/S FERTILITY – Semen allergy, also known as seminal plasma hypersensitivity is a rare condition, mostly seen in women. It comes into effect as a consequence of allergic reaction to proteins found in a man’s semen. Naturally, it hinders conception as white blood cells destroy the sperms, making it difficult to fuse with the egg. Its symptoms are often mistaken for that of yeast infection; they include redness , swelling, burning, itchiness of the genitals or any part of the body that comes in contact with the semen. Shortly after copulation, burning sensation in the vagina is reported. Anaphylaxis, a severe allergy are seen in patients having seminal plasma hypersensitivity. In most cases, it’s life threatening, its symptoms vary from low blood pressure to lack of consciousness, it’s advised to take immediate medical attention after spotting any of its symptoms.
Some common treatment strategies:
Sperm barriers like condom are often used as a part of its treatment, though it can’t be used as a valid method since it makes it impossible for getting pregnant. Desensitization, where patients are exposed to semen for a period of time so that tolerance to semen is maintained, it’s normally done in a health advisor’s office, where the semen of the female’s partner is placed into her and it’s maintained as such for a period of 20 minutes. Protein desensitization where protein from partner’s semen is placed into her for 10-15 minutes. These methods should be taken at least two times a week for success. Detoxification therapy is taken for patients who have developed hives.
Pregnancy:
Couples who can’t become pregnant due to the allergy can conceive through IVF treatments or artificial insemination.
Artificial Insemination:
The husband’s semen is processed for removing allergenic contents. Here, sperm is directly inserted into woman’s Fallopian tube or cervix, commonly IUI (Intra Uterine Insemination) where sperm is placed inside the uterus. At first doctors check whether the patient is ovulating by using ultrasound, ovulation kit or blood tests. Then the husband should provide a sample of semen. It’s advised not to have physical relationship for 2-3 days, so that sperm count will remain high. The sperm is washed at a laboratory in order to remove chemicals that causes discomfort for the woman, it raises the chances of getting pregnant. The sperm collected is liquefied by keeping in in the room temperature for half an hour. A chemical is passed through the liquid to collect the active sperm. It’s then collected in a centrifuge. It’s later transferred into a catheter. Comparatively, it’s painless and short , it would require the patient to lie down for about 45 minutes to give the sperm a chance to get through. Mild cramps may be faced after the procedure, also bleeding may occur.
In certain cases, this may be unsuccessful and the cases are:
- Old age in women
- Damage to Fallopian tubes due to infection
- Blockage of Fallopian tubes a result of which fusion doesn’t occur
- Low quality of sperms
SEMEN ALLERGY AT A GLANCE
- Women who have a semen allergy are most allergic to all semen.
- Redness, burning of genitals etcetera is its symptoms.
- Pregnancy is often at risk
- Treatments like IVF are used to get pregnant
Image by catklein (cc)
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