Q I am 6 months into a new, serious relationship. My partner and I have great oral sex (we both swallow), but about a half hour afterward, I get a sudden case of diarrhea. This has never happened to me before and it is causing me great anxiety. Any advice – other than not swallowing? Thank you.
A Happy to hear youâre having great oral sex! However, sounds like the greatness of the oral sex is being shadowed by the anticipation of diarrhea that follows. So, this is something that you should figure out, especially if it happens consistently with your current partner.
Diarrhea is a signal to your body to flush water to your intestines to cleanse out toxins before theyâre absorbed into your bloodstream. In other words, diarrhea happens when your body wants to get rid of whatever you have taken in because it is a potential threat.
If the diarrhea happens consistently, regardless of what you eat beforehand (try not to swallow on an empty stomach), and you can rule out any other causes other than the semen youâre swallowing, your partner might want to get checked out by a physician to screen for any problems in his semen.
Semen contains water, protein, sugar, calcium, and a bunch of other minerals. Itâs generally speaking, pretty clean stuff. Some people have allergies to semen, although itâs very rare. Allergies to semen are universal â meaning, if you are allergic to one guyâs semen, youâre allergic to semen in general. So if this hasnât ever happened to you when youâve swallowed other semen in the past, then you can likely rule out a semen allergy.
You could be having a reaction to something else related to the blowjob, external to his semen. Make sure you wash your hands thoroughly before you pleasure him and make sure he is keeping up with the hygiene of his penis by washing it daily. When we donât wash our skin surface (especially hands), a lot of potentially harmful bacteria can collect. The diarrhea could be a reaction to flushing out this bacteria.
If youâve had any sort of oral-anal contact (including when oral sex happens after anal sex without a barrier), this could be the culprit. Unlike the properties of semen, the anus has a number of potentially harmful bacteria hanging out around there. So, make sure you either wear a barrier or clean off his dick if it has been in or around your anus before you stick it in your mouth.
Also, your anxiety around the issue could be perpetuating the diarrhea. Sometimes, when something happens once, we anticipate it happening again. The anticipation causes anxiety, and anxiety can cause diarrhea. I would doubt this would account for all of the cause, but it could be one of a few contributing factors.
So, try to wash your hands and his dick before you give oral sex, and see if that works. But first things first, get to your doc, get your partner to his doc, and rule out any physical cause
Kristen Mark, MS, is currently completing her PhD in Health Behavior with concentrations in Human Sexuality and Statistics at Indiana University. She is a writer for Kinsey Confidential and an expert for Good In Bed.
