Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with semen

YANMD....but please diagnose this

Anonymous — Mon, 26 Jan 2009 13:24:49 -0800

Blood in my semen. My ejaculate has blood in it. Not super bloody, but it's coming out red tinted. It's been the same for about the last four days. It might be important that my urine doesn't appear to have the same red tint, only the ejaculate. Also, the urinary meatus burns a tiny bit, but no real pain anywhere so far.

Could you give me plausible candidates for what it might be? I did have an unprotected one night stand more than a week ago. Do these symptoms match any obvious STDs? Obviously that is my prime suspect, but another idea is that I use saliva to masturbate and my oral hygiene has been really bad lately.

I'm poor, but I might scare myself into visiting a clinic if it becomes painful or doesn't go away soon.

Old sci-fi stumpers. Can you identify the writer/story?

darkpony — Mon, 12 Jan 2009 16:09:28 -0800

Old sci-fi stumpers. Can you identify the writer/story? [more inside] 1. Humans don't have sex together but have recreational sex with flowers,
which collect semen and inseminate women

2. Arachnoid aliens arrive on the earth, looking for something - because
they have exhausted their local supplies of mammalian creatures in whom
to deposit their eggs

They are definitely from before 1980. Thanks!

Peer review for semen samples?

palindromic — Sun, 28 Dec 2008 15:56:45 -0800

A dispute between friends: is there any, say, peer-reviewed information out there about how a vegetarian diet impacts the taste of semen versus a meat-heavy diet? The more science-y, the better. I've found lots of articles that sort of state things like "Broccoli and asparagus make semen taste worse!" but where's the clinical tries? The double-blind controlled taste tests? Longitudinal follow up?

You can see the problem. Any reliable source would be appreciated!

Sulfa danger?

Anonymous — Fri, 26 Dec 2008 09:15:38 -0800

I'm allergic to sulfa drugs (specifically known to be allergic to Septra). My boyfriend's taking Bactrim, a sulfa drug. Could I have an allergic reaction from kissing him or coming into contact with his sweat? Could sleeping next to him be dangerous?

How can you get cleared faster for unprotected sex after a vasectomy?

otherwordlyglow — Sat, 01 Nov 2008 14:25:47 -0800

I have some post-vasectomy questions. We've thought of a lot of questions since my husband got a vasectomy about 6 weeks ago. We'd ask the doc but he has no plans to see him again.

He had his first post-procedure sampling Friday and the result was that he's not clear yet (there's still residual sperm in his semen) and will get tested again in a month. Is there anything to do to hasten the clearing of the sperm from his system? Should he be masturbating a lot in order to clean the pipes out? If you've gone through this, how long did it take you to get the "all clear"?

From what I gather, now that the procedure if done, even though the sperm is still being produced, it doesn't make it into the semen, right? But where does the sperm go? I've heard that it gets "reabsorbed", but what does that mean? Is there sperm free-floating in his body (I'm guessing not but am still wondering where it goes)? How long does sperm "live" inside his body before it dies or is reabsorbed?

The semen of vegetables? What?

clavicle — Thu, 16 Oct 2008 21:30:45 -0800

Why did Rufus Wainwright say that broccoli is "the semen of vegetables"? ...Seriously, that's my question. I just got back from a Rufus Wainwright show, and between songs he explained that he was drinking a lot of water because he'd eaten a lot of broccoli before the show. Then he paused and said, "...I was just about to say something really gross." There was another pause and he went ahead and said it: "...I feel like broccoli is, like, the semen of vegetables." I attended the show with three other people who eat plenty of broccoli, but do not consume a lot of semen, and none of us could figure out what he was talking about. What gives?

(Also, is this not the best juxtaposition of tags ever?)

Yes, I realize it's disgusting.

kafziel — Wed, 17 Sep 2008 15:09:45 -0800

Is it possible to ferment potable alcohol from animal sources? Like, fluids? Okay, I recognize this is extremely disgusting, and wholeheartedly agree. I'm not asking this because I want to actually ever drink such a thing. It's just idle curiosity, because I don't know a ton about the fermentation process.

That said, is it possible to ferment blood? How about semen? Would you need to add sugar? Really, just what would be the process involved here? Or, if it's not possible, what prevents it?

Smelly tree, smelly tree, it's not your fault...

summit — Thu, 01 May 2008 14:54:12 -0800

What tree smells like semen or vagina? This tree seems to be really popular around greater Boston. It has 5 white petals on each flower and the leaves look similar to this alternate drawing. The worst part is that while it's flowering, the tree smells like semen or vagina, depending on who you ask. What kind of tree is it? It's definitely not the Chinese chestnut.

Health risks associated with preventing ejaculation?

Anonymous — Wed, 20 Feb 2008 18:18:29 -0800

Is circumventing ejaculation with pressure to the perineum harmful? About eight or so years ago when I was a teenager I read somewhere that pressing down firmly on the perineum with your fingers during an ejaculation prevents the semen from coming out (not entirely I was to find out, there's still a little leakage, but it does stop the bulk of it). Being a teenager, I found this a very useful means of saving tissues.

However, I got into a habit of doing this and continue to do it to this day, about 2/3 of the time I orgasm. How exactly does this work, and is it in any way harmful to my prostate, etc.? I'm not having any problems with my prostate, urinary tract, or sex drive at the moment, I'm asking out of curiosity.

How would you assign numbers to the different types of human effluvia?

Mapes — Sun, 09 Dec 2007 20:51:32 -0800

How would you assign numbers to the different types of human effluvia? We all know what "number one" and "number two" stand for. There is some precedent for referring to semen as "number three." What are some smart, memorable ways of numbering our other discharges: tears, sweat, earwax, saliva, breast milk, etc.?

Assume that the numbers might be used as a shorthand or code for privacy or obfuscation ("Cleanup number five on aisle seven").

The best answers will be suitable as mnemonics and be clever enough to seem obvious in retrospect. Example: #8 = vomit, because it's what you "ate." Creativity and memorability win here.

My vote goes for marzipan.

Arthur "Two Sheds" Jackson — Sat, 16 Dec 2006 01:56:20 -0800

Having read the ying, I am now curious about the yang: fellatio aficionados, what does it taste like to you?

How to increase semen ?

inquisitive — Sun, 08 Oct 2006 07:03:17 -0800

What kind of foods help to increase the quantity of semen ? ( I am talking about semen, not sperms)

Removing semen stains

PenguinBukkake — Tue, 03 Jan 2006 17:30:50 -0800

What's the best method for removing human semen stains from dark cotton bedsheets? Very hot washing machine cycles don't always work. Thank you.

Why does semen sting?

Anonymous — Tue, 09 Aug 2005 12:06:08 -0800

Why does semen sting? I've been with someone for over a year, and we recently switched from condoms to another method of birth control. Now that we are having sex without condoms, I sometimes feel a burning sensation after he ejaculates.

I do not have any UTI symptoms (last week I checked out bacteria free because I was at the doctor for one earlier)--just the burning from the ejaculate. I asked, and he said he is not feeling any burning during sex or at other times.

It seems that a very tiny percent of women are allergic to semen, but I've had sex with other people and did not have the same discomfort. It doesn't seem plausible that I have human seminal plasma hypersensitivity. Time to go back to the doctor, I suppose.

During my search for information I followed an interesting sideline and found out that some Gulf War vets suffer from 'Burning Semen' Syndrome.

DNA extraction from sperm

nprigoda — Fri, 06 May 2005 10:52:25 -0800

Does anyone have a good, detailed protocol for nuclear DNA extraction from a human (or other mammalian) sperm sample? Our lab will be receiving a sperm sample and need to get DNA to use in PCR (and maybe quantitative PCR). Our problem is, we've never received semen before. I've worked with blood and tumor samples, but I'm concerned that there is enough difference between blood and semen that I can't use my normal protocol.
Also, I don't really know what to suggest to the lab sending the sample. Should we freeze the sample to avoid DNA degradation?

Why aren't testicles inside the body?

five fresh fish — Sun, 03 Oct 2004 19:44:07 -0800

BallsFilter: Why is male semen best created and stored at temperatures below normal body temperature? Why keep those delicate ovoids outside the body where they're exposed to a good swift kick? Shouldn't they be tucked deep inside for safety?