Male lubricants: why premature ejaculation is dangerous for you

What is premature ejaculation? Sperm or not? Can you start from it? Is the risk high? Anything other than pregnancy? Let's talk about everything in order.

Visualize the penis in an excited state

What is premature ejaculation?

Premature ejaculation, he is semen before semen, he is also semen first, he is also Cooper fluid - this is a clear secretion secreted from the penis in a state of sexual arousal. Cooper's glands and Littre's glands, located near the urethra, the same tube through which sperm and urine leave a man's body, are thought to produce pre-semen.

Amin Gerati, MD, a urologist at Johns Hopkins University, explains that pre-ejaculation prepares the urethra for semen to pass through. The fact is that urine creates an acidic environment, which is very unfriendly to sperm. Preliminary fluid is needed to neutralize any remaining acid and provide a safe passage for the seed. In general, consider precum as an opening artist to the main title of the show.

Wait, so are there any sperm in the semen?

No, they don't live there. But those tailed little sources of trouble can be in the urethra if your partner ejaculates before sex — especially if he doesn't pee afterward. And if all the stars align, Cooper's fluid could very well carry live sperm into your vagina.

"Usually this is not enough, " says Dr. Geraghty. "The chance of getting pregnant with premature ejaculation is very low, but never zero. "

There is not as much research on this topic as we would like. In 2013, the journal Human Fertility published the results of one of them: scientists tested 40 pre-ejaculate samples provided by 27 men. Live sperm was found in the semen of 41% of the participants. That's right, you can't call them first class: only 37% are mobile enough to make the journey to the uterus.

The study's authors note that all but one of the "samples" contained up to 23 million sperm. It sounds ominous, but it really isn't a scary number. In 2010, WHO examined the semen of 1, 953 men whose women became pregnant in the past year, and only 2. 5% of these men had less than 23 million sperm in their semen.

And why are we talking about premature ejaculation?

The problem of having sperm first is often raised in connection with the intermittent method (also known as interrupted intercourse - like a dinosaur name? ) that couples often use to prevent pregnancy. It involves a man withdrawing his penis from the vagina just before ejaculation to minimize the risk of pregnancy.

As you might have guessed, this is not the most effective method of protection: its reliability is only 78% with "normal" (not ideal) performance. And it certainly doesn't protect against STDs. But precum can hardly be blamed for the ambiguity of the "do-it-yourself" method: no study can answer the question of when pregnancy occurs due to pre-semen and when - due to sperm, one drop of sperm has ended. up in the vagina due to carelessness of men.

So it's not a matter of semen containing a lot of sperm that you can get pregnant. The problem is that it is very difficult to use the interrupt method perfectly. If you're worried about two lines, choose condoms that have a 2% failure rate. Also, make sure your partner puts on a condom before his penis gets inside your vagina.

If you're going to interrupt, remember: this requires trust in your partner. Do you know for sure that he is in control of himself and will always follow the rules the two of you have established together? Discuss emergency contraception: don't forget that it's more expensive than condoms and if you choose to interrupt the economy, you could be in trouble.

And, of course, there are STDs. If you've both been tested and haven't had unprotected sex with another person, then you've done everything you can to avoid such illnesses. But if these two points are not met, it must be taken into account: without a barrier method of contraception, it is very easy to get uncomfortable.

And infection occurs regardless of ejaculation. For example, gonorrhea and chlamydia often have genital secretions that can transmit the infection, and for some STIs, skin-to-skin contact is enough. Condoms won't protect against the latter, but they help reduce the number of exposures.

Well, let's sum it up. Precum is a pretty cool thing that serves a specific purpose. Science still can't confidently answer the question of how big he is, but that doesn't matter. The bottom line is that if you rely on the intermittent method and don't use condoms, you run the risk of pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases. If this thought scares you, discuss it with your doctor: he or she will help you choose the means of protection that best suit your lifestyle.