Nov. 14, 2006 —It's official: Women can actually become allergic to their husbands or other men, according to new research presented at this week's annual meeting of the American College of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology in Philadelphia.
The culprit is semen, reports David Resnick, acting director of the Division of Allergy at The New York Presbyterian Hospital. It isn't sperm but accompanying proteins that can cause an allergic response, a phenomenon that is becoming more recognized among allergists, he said.
While there have been no reported deaths from an allergic response to semen, some women may require hospitalization after experiencing difficulty breathing, hives and swelling. Less severe cases may result in itching, burning and swelling after intercourse.
More women may have the reaction than are aware of it, said Resnick.
"Some women think there's another problem (such as an infection or condom allergy)," Resnick told Discovery News. But "in one survey, out of 1,073 women who sought related information from a researcher, approximately 13 percent were determined to have a semen allergy."
Sufferers, Resnick explained, produce an antibody that recognizes the proteins in a partner's semen. The antibody triggers a powerful immune response, similar in mild cases to hay fever. Some women are only allergic to the semen of a certain partner, but others react to multiple men.
