Public awareness is great surrounding issues like not being able to maintain an erection or not being able to orgasm, but less attention is paid to those men who can orgasm, but have no semen. If sexual climax occurs and there is no seminal fluid, this is called a dry orgasm.
What Causes Dry Orgasm?
The most common cause of dry orgasm is something called retrograde ejaculation, where sperm is ejaculated into the bladder instead of through the tip of the penis. This normally occurs after surgery for prostate problems.
Other causes include:
- medications - some medicines can interfere with the production of semen
- disabilities including genetic abnormalities
- bladder and prostate cancers and treatment for cancer, such as radiotherapy and chemotherapy
- spinal cord injury
- progressive illnesses such as multiple sclerosis (MS)
- diabetes
- problems with the penis, such as a blockage preventing semen from being ejaculated
How is Dry Orgasm Treated?
Treatment depends on the cause. If the problem is caused by medications, you should speak to your doctor about discontinuing or altering your medicine. Specific medicines that are known to cause dry orgasm include anti-depressants, prostate drugs and high blood pressure medications.
If you have retrograde ejaculation caused by prostate surgery, then sodium bicarbonate tablets can lower the acid in your urine, allowing sperm to live in the urine which enables specialists to extract it for use in IVF, should you wish to have children.
If you have a genetic or other conditions, a fertility specialist may be able to help you. If you have no sperm at all, then using donor sperm could be an option for you. If you have some sperm, then a technique called intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) where a single sperm is injected into your partner's egg, may be a viable fertility treatment.
Ejaculatory Duct Obstruction
If you have a blockage of your ejaculatory duct, it can be treated with surgery. Ejaculatory duct obstructions are caused by a variety of things, including cysts and sexually transmitted infections, Scarring from infection can block the ducts.
This would be diagnosed by ultrasound scan. If the diagnosis is confirmed, you will be offered a procedure called a transurethral resection of the ejaculatory duct. This is where part of the duct containing the blockage is removed. It will then be repaired and the surgeon will run blue dye through the duct to ensure it is working correctly. You will be given a general or local anesthesia for this operation and will usually be given antibiotics afterwards to prevent post-operative infection.
If you aren't planning on having children, then dry orgasm is not usually harmful but you should still consider seeing a doctor just in case it is caused by an underlying medical disorder that would require treatment.
Sources: Cancer Research UK, www.cancerhelp.org.uk
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