ABSTRACT
Seminal plasma hypersensitivity (SPH) was first reported by a Dutch gynecologist, J.L.H. Specken, in 1958.[1] Since that time, numerous well-documented cases and case series of women experiencing systemic and/or localized SPH have been reported in the literature.[2–4] SPH is increasingly being recognized as a cause of anaphylaxis and/or intermittent episodic vulvovaginitis. SPH is defined as a spectrum of clinical symptoms manifesting as either systemic and/or localized reactions after exposure to specific protein components in seminal plasma.[5] Women with systemic SPH present with symptoms of diffuse urticaria, facial, tongue, lip and throat angioedema with or without stridor, wheezing with severe dyspnea, pelvic and vulvovaginal pain, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, general malaise, and in the most extreme circumstance, life-threatening hypotension, loss of consciousness, and complete circulatory failure.[5] These reactions typically occur postcoitally within 30 minutes after exposure to seminal plasma proteins (SPP) and resolve over a 24-hour period, although urticaria, vaginal pain, and malaise may persist for several days to weeks. To date, there have been no deaths reported from anaphylaxis secondary to SPH.[5]
