When Infertility Is Caused By A Sperm Allergy

Couples who would like to become parents can face all kinds of medical problems. A semen allergy is among the less well-known and more bizarre causes of fertility struggles. In this article, we'll examine what a sperm allergy is, how it can lead to infertility, and what the treatment options are.

What Is A Sperm Allergy?

What is colloquially known as a “sperm allergy” or a “semen allergy” is, in fact, an allergic reaction to a protein within a man's seminal plasma. It is officially known as Human Seminal Plasma Hypersensitivity. Women can manifest an allergic reaction after contact with their partner's semen, but a man can also be allergic to his own semen in rare cases.

The allergic reaction does not typically occur the first time the skin comes into contact with the allergen. Rather, the allergy builds up over time.

Women who have a semen allergy are likely to be allergic to all semen, not just their particular partner's semen. Once sensitized, the body will jump into action immediately upon allergen exposure and symptoms will show up right away or within the hour. The antibodies quickly detect the allergen in the semen, and bind to it. At the same time, chemicals like histamines are released to deal with the allergen.

The result? Swelling of the genital area, a burning sensation, pain and redness can be the uncomfortable resulting symptoms. Histamine leads to typical allergy symptoms like urticaria (hives), swelling, and an itchy skin. Anyone who has ever had hives knows how uncomfortable they can be, but imagine what it would be like if your genital area was affected.

What's even more disturbing is that some women who are hypersensitive to semen have reactions so severe that they can go into anaphylactic shock!

How many women suffer from a hypersensitivity to human sperm? Dr Michael Carroll, a lecturer in Reproductive Science at Manchester Metropolitan University in the United Kindgom has researched the topic. He estimates that up to 12 percent of women are affected, and that women aged between 20 and 30 show the worst symptoms.

One of Dr Carroll's papers, published in the journal Human Fertility, suggests that sperm allergy is often misdiagnosed — the symptoms are, after all, similar to other conditions including dermatitis and some sexually transmitted diseases.

How Does A Semen Allergy Cause Infertility?

Dr Carroll and his colleagues performed allergy tests on four women who were diagnosed with a semen allergy. They separated sperm cells from the surrounding seminal fluid and checked what the cause of the allergic reaction was through allergy skin prick tests.

Researchers believe that a glycoprotein from the prostate is the specific culprit.

Sexual intercourse becomes an unpleasant activity for couples who are dealing with a semen allergy, regardless of the exact cause. For many, using condoms becomes the obvious solution to a tricky problem. Total abstinence is another (probably unappealing) possibility. Neither of these options help very much when a couple affected by semen allergy would like to have a baby.

A semen allergy isn't a direct cause of infertility, but it does make unprotected sexual intercourse unpleasant at best and dangerous at worst. When you are trying to conceive, quantity means more than quality and having unprotected sex a few times a cycle isn't likely to give you that positive pregnancy test.

Erectile dysfunction isn't a direct cause of infertility either — the man is pretty likely to be producing sperm — but it still makes pregnancy next to impossible. A semen allergy functions in a similar way. If you can't have unprotected intercourse because it can result in serious health problems, you are practically infertile.

Getting Pregnant With A Semen Allergy: Your Options

The good news is that you have options. The fact that a semen allergy is caused by a component of seminal fluid rather than sperm itself is positive. Intrauterine Insemination (IUI) is a relatively non-invasive fertility intervention in which sperm are inserted into the uterus through a catheter.

Raw semen contains chemicals that make the uterus contract badly when direct contact occurs, so all sperm goes through a process called “sperm washing” before it can be used in an IUI cycle. Sperm washing and IUI has even allowed HIV positive men to become fathers with an extremely low risk of transmitting the disease.

Desensitization treatment is the other option. This treatment will reverse the sensitization process that caused the woman to have an allergic reaction, and hopefully enable her to conceive naturally. This can be done in two separate ways — with allergy injections containing tiny amounts of a partner's semen, or by inserting gradually increasing amounts of semen into the woman's vagina.

Beware, though: though both these options require that a couple has regular unprotected sex, couples affected by a semen allergy should not attempt to go through a desensitization process at home. Exposure to semen can, after all, be a deadly affair if anaphylactic shock sets in. Desensitization requires a skilled allergist with experience in this area.