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Antisperm Antibodies
Myths, Truths and Treatments of Sperm Allergies
By Kendeyl Johansen
What if you were allergic to your husband's sperm? This might seem like a cruel joke from nature, but it does happen, and women aren't the only ones who can be affected – a man can be allergic to his own sperm. "Antisperm antibodies" is the correct term for this misunderstood condition.
Some women fear they may have this condition due to painful intercourse or burning and itching after intimacy. In truth, symptoms like burning, itching or inflammation signal other medical problems such as a genital tract infection.
"The condition known as 'sperm allergy' is not really an allergy; it does not make you sneeze," says Steven Witkin, Ph.D., a professor in the department of obstetrics and gynecology at Weill Medical College of Cornell University. "The immune system of some men and women see sperm as a foreign invader, like a germ, and their bodies make antibodies to attack the sperm." Antisperm antibodies may cause infertility by preventing the sperm from reaching and fertilizing the egg.
Indeed, infertility in one or both partners is the only symptom of antisperm antibodies. Infertility is generally diagnosed after a couple has tried to conceive for more than one year.
"I was terrified when I first heard the words 'sperm allergy,'" says Pregnancy Today diary writer Tammy Cole. "I very clearly remember looking at the slide under the microscope with the doctor and seeing tons of sperm – but nothing moving. I knew that could not be good news."
"Antisperm antibodies may be a complicating factor in as much as 5 to 10 percent of infertility cases," says Witkin. He adds that almost all men who have undergone a vasectomy (surgical operation that causes sterility) produce antisperm antibodies after the procedure. If he undergoes a vasectomy reversal, the antisperm antibodies will interfere with conception.
