A man who found an unconventional ‘cure’ for his back pain suffered awful side effects after injecting himself with his own sp*rm.
In 2019, a 33-year-old unnamed man had to take himself to hospital after what he said was ‘severe, sudden onset lower back pain’ after moving a heavy object.
Doctors X-rayed the man and discovered that his arm looked red and swollen so questioned what had happened.
He then shared that in a bizarre attempt to stop the pain, he had been injecting himself with his own s*men for 18 months against proper medical advice.
He had used a hypodermic needle that he bought online to inject himself and before going to the hospital, had given himself three ‘doses’ in one go.
After an X-ray, health care professionals found he had subcutaneous emphysema- ‘a rare condition that happens when air gets trapped under your skin’ and a buildup of s*men in his muscle and that he was in urgent need of an antibacterial treatment.
He discharged himself after his pain stopped and had his arm drained.
The situation was reported to the Irish Medical Journal and the author, Dr Lisa Dunne, wrote: “Upon further interrogation of this alternative therapy, he revealed he had injected one monthly ‘dose’ of semen for 18 consecutive months using a hypodermic needle which had been purchased online.”
“Although there is a report of the effects of subcutaneous semen injection into rats and rabbits, there were no cases of intravenous semen injection into humans found across the literature,” the report read.
“A search of more eclectic internet sites and forums found no other documentation of semen injection for back pain treatment or other uses.”
The journal went on to warn others of attempting this method of pain relief: “The dangers of venepuncture when carried out by the untrained layperson are highlighted as well as the vascular and soft tissue hazards surrounding the attempted injection of substances not intended for intravenous use,” it read.
“The case also demonstrates the risks involved with medical experimentation prior to extensive clinical research in the form of phased trials inclusive of safety and efficacy assessments.”