Postorgasmic Illness Syndrome

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The postorgasmic illness syndrome (POIs) describes a number of symptoms which, in rare cases, after the male ejaculation occur. The most common symptoms include flu-like symptoms such as increased body temperature, sweating and chills, as well as unspecific symptoms such as poor concentration, extreme tiredness, exhaustion and irritability. Symptoms in most cases appear less than 30 minutes after ejaculation and last for two to seven days. In men with Postorgasmic Illness Syndrome, these symptoms appear almost after every ejaculation.

The syndrome was first described in a study by Marcel D. Waldinger and Dave H. Schweitzer in 2002 and named by them.

Symptoms

A study of POIS in 45 Dutch men suspected of having POIS classified the symptoms and their frequency as follows:

Symptom category symptom Frequency in%
unspecific Extreme tiredness / exhaustion 80
Racing heart 22nd
Speech disorders 18th
Poor concentration 87
Irritability 78
Light or sound sensitivity 9
depressed mood 15th
flu-like Fever, sweating, chills 78
Malaise, freezing 47
head Headache, drowsiness 55
eyes burning / red eyes 44
clouded vision 22nd
watery / irritated / itchy eyes 27
dry / sensitive / sore eyes 20th
nose stuffy nose 31
runny nose 33
throat dry mouth / bad taste 11
Sore throat / hoarseness 11
Muscles Tension in the back and neck 24
Muscle weakness / wobbly knees 18th
Leg pain / muscle pain / heavy legs 31
Tense / stiff muscles 22nd

In addition, 56% of the participants in the study reported suffering from premature ejaculation for life . The corresponding share in the total population is much lower at 2.5%.

causes

The postorgasmic illness syndrome has not yet been researched. The authors of the largest study to date suggest that POIS is related to an autoimmune reaction against the body's own semen . This assumption is based on the type and time of occurrence of the symptoms as well as on the statements of the study participants that the symptoms occur only after an ejaculation . If this is suppressed during sexual activity, the symptoms do not appear. According to the authors, the symptoms are consistent with types I and IV allergic reactions . In order to investigate the suspicion of an autoimmune reaction, the authors of the study carried out a prick test in which the study participants were injected with a diluted solution of their body's own semen. This test resulted in a positive reaction in 88% of the participants. Up to the time of the study, only cases of semen allergy in women were known.

One case study reports on two men in whom no organic causes of POIS were found. It is believed that there could be different types of POIS.

frequency

The symptoms of postorgasmic illness syndrome partly coincide with those of sexual headache, the frequency of which is given as 0.25–1%. POIS could therefore inappropriately be diagnosed as a sexual headache. The low awareness of the syndrome also suggests that the prevalence in the population could be much greater than previously known.

treatment

So far there is no specific treatment of POIS. However, one study reported two cases in which a desensitization was carried out with the body's own semen. For this purpose, over a longer period of more than a year (three years, in one of the cases), regular applications with diluted, endogenous seminal fluid were carried out, the titer gradually increasing. Both study participants experienced gradual symptom relief of 60% and 90%, respectively.

Another study reported on a man with POIS-typical symptoms who could relieve his symptoms or even prevent them from occurring by taking norethisterone . During the eighth week of his wife's pregnancy, the man had observed that the POIS-typical symptoms suddenly no longer occurred. Symptoms came back after the child was born. This suggested that progesterone might have something to do with the onset of symptoms. The female progesterone levels rise rapidly in the eighth week of pregnancy and fall again after the birth. The study suspects that the man may have absorbed progesterone through skin contact and mucous membranes or through the urethra while his wife was pregnant . After the woman became pregnant, norethisterone, which has an effect similar to that of progesterone, was taken for eight months and showed similar effects.

Dealing with the disease

For most people, symptoms appear regularly after ejaculation. Many sufferers therefore minimize the frequency of sexual intercourse and masturbation , to the point of avoiding it completely. Most of those affected plan the timing of sexual intercourse so that the symptoms that occur afterwards have as little impact as possible on work, study or social life. Many men who suffer from POIS worry about their relationship with their sexual partners and report feelings of guilt.

See also

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c d Marcel D. Waldinger, Marcus MHM Meinardi, Aeilko H. Zwinderman, Dave H. Schweitzer: Postorgasmic Illness Syndrome (POIS) in 45 Dutch Caucasian Males: Clinical Characteristics and Evidence for an Immunogenic Pathogenesis (Part 1). In: The Journal of Sexual Medicine 8, No. 4 (2011): pp. 1164-1170. doi : 10.1111 / j.1743-6109.2010.02166.x .
  2. ↑ Marcel D. Waldinger, Dave H. Schweitzer: Postorgasmic Illness Syndrome: Two Cases. Journal of Sex & Marital Therapy 28, No. 3 (2002): pp. 251-255. doi : 10.1080 / 009262302760328280 .
  3. ↑ a b Jane Ashby, David Goldmeier: CASE REPORT: Postorgasm Illness Syndrome — A Spectrum of Illnesses. The Journal of Sexual Medicine 7, No. 5 (2010): pp. 1976-1981. doi : 10.1111 / j.1743-6109.2010.01707.x .
  4. ↑ Birthe Krogh Rasmussen, Jes Olesen: Symptomatic and Nonsymptomatic Headaches in a General Population. Neurology 42, No. 6 (June 1, 1992): pp. 1225-1225. doi : 10.1212 / WNL.42.6.1225 .
  5. ^ A b c S. Dexter: Benign Coital Headache Relieved by Partner's Pregnancies with Implications for Future Treatment. Case Reports 2010, No. feb08 1 (February 8, 2010): bcr1020092359 – bcr1020092359. doi : 10.1136 / bcr.10.2009.2359 .
  6. ^ Roy J. Levin: Physiology of Orgasm. In: Cancer and Sexual Health, ed. by John P. Mulhall, Luca Incrocci, Irwin Goldstein, and Ray Rosen, pp. 35-49. Current Clinical Urology. Humana Press, 2011. doi : 10.1007 / 978-1-60761-916-1_4 .
  7. ↑ Marcel D. Waldinger, Marcus MHM Meinardi, Dave H. Schweitzer: Hyposensitization Therapy with Autologous Semen in Two Dutch Caucasian Males: Beneficial Effects in Postorgasmic Illness Syndrome (POIS; Part 2). The Journal of Sexual Medicine 8, No. 4 (2011): pp. 1171-1176. doi : 10.1111 / j.1743-6109.2010.02167.x .
  8. ↑ E. Mutschler, G. Geisslinger, HK Kroemer, P. Ruth, M. Schäfer-Korting: drug effects. Textbook of pharmacology and toxicology. 9th edition. Wissenschaftliche Verlagsgesellschaft mbH, Stuttgart 2008, ISBN 3-8047-1952-X , p. 453.