A man who would get sick for days every time he ejaculated has been diagnosed with an extraordinarily rare allergy.
The 22-year-old, from Israel, has postorgasmic illness syndrome (POIS), which is thought to be caused by an allergic reaction to a protein released by the immune system when men climax.
Since he was 14, he would suffer fatigue, watery eyes, muscle pain, and feeling like his brain was ‘not functioning’ for hours or days after an orgasm.
It would occur after sex, masturbation, or even during nocturnal emissions – better known as ‘wet dreams.’
The bizarre condition – suffered by just 50 people worldwide – made it impossible for him to be intimate or hold down a relationship.
After suffering from depression and anxiety for years, he finally went to doctors after researching what might be causing his condition.
He now has to take allergy shots every time he masturbates or has sex.
An unnamed man in Israel was diagnosed with postorgasmic illness syndrome (POIS), which causes flu and allergy symptoms within a few hours of sex or masturbation (stock image)
POIS was first discovered in 2002 by Dutch neuropsychiatrist Dr Marcel D Waldinger, who developed five criteria for diagnosing it.
These include flu-like symptoms, occurring in at least nine in 10 ejaculations, duration for about two to seven days, onset within a few minutes or hours, and symptoms stopping spontaneously.
While most symptoms like fatigue and body aches are mild, some patients may suffer heart palpitations or incoherent speech.
Writing in a medical journal this week, doctors said the man sought medical help after reading about semen allergies, which doctors suggest could be one underlying cause of POIS.
This would generate an autoimmune response in the body, which could explain the allergy-like symptoms that some men experience.
Researchers have also suggested POIS may be triggered by a hormonal imbalance in the brain.
The man tested negative for a semen allergy, meaning his condition probably wasn’t caused by an allergy to proteins in his ejaculate.
Doctors suspected his orgasms may have activated immune cells called mast cells, which live in the body’s connective tissues.
Mast cells are normally activated when they sense invaders like bacteria and viruses, and triggering them causes allergy symptoms like headaches, itching, diarrhea, and vomiting.
Doctors prescribed the man omalizumab, sold in the US under brand name Xolair.
Xolair is injected under the skin and is typically prescribed for chronic hives, allergies, and asthma.
It blocks immunoglobulin E (IgE) antibodies and stops them from binding to mast cells and triggering allergic reactions.
The doctors wrote that Xolair has only been used to treat POIS once before in a 33-year-old man from Turkey who experienced flu-like symptoms as long as seven days after each ejaculation.
After seven months of taking the injection after sex or masturbation, the man in Israel’s symptoms stopped.
He also told doctors he could finally date and have sex normally.
Since POIS was discovered 20 years ago, only about 50 cases have been reported worldwide.
It’s unclear exactly what causes the condition, but recent research suggests it could be from an allergic reaction to proteins in semen or hormonal imbalances.
[Notigroup Newsroom in collaboration with other media outlets, with information from the following sources]
