A man went to great lengths to avoid passing traces of nuts to his girlfriend before engaging in intimate activities. Despite his efforts, he was one nut away from doing so.
The boyfriend was meticulous in his precautions, washing himself, his mouth, and even his fingernails. The 20-year-old woman, who had a severe allergy to a particular type of nut, believed it was safe for them to be together.
Unfortunately, she was mistaken, leading to a study being conducted as a result of their experience.
“The patient’s partner was aware of the patient’s very significant nut allergy and had bathed, brushed his teeth and cleaned his nails immediately before intercourse as he had consumed mixed nuts roughly two to three hours earlier. These had included between 4 to 5 Brazil nuts,” researchers in their 2007 study, published in the Journal of Investigational Allergology and Clinical Immunology, explained.
“The patient had been diagnosed with Brazil nut allergy 2 years earlier as a result of several episodes of urticaria and angioedema after consuming foods containing nuts,” doctors noted.
Urticaria, commonly known as hives, is a condition that causes red, itchy bumps on the skin, while angioedema is swelling beneath the skin’s surface.
The researchers elaborated: “The cause of the patient’s post-coital reaction was initially unclear. However, the history suggested a possible Brazil nut reaction with the Brazil nut proteins being secreted into her partner’s semen.”
If you’re following along, you may have guessed where this is heading… no need for me to spell it out if you’re familiar with the birds and the bees.
“A 20-year-old woman in a stable relationship developed widespread urticaria and angioedema shortly after vaginal intercourse with her partner. Condoms were not used as the patient was taking the contraceptive pill,” described authors AS Bansal, R Chee, V Nagendran, A Warner, G Hayman, from the Department of Immunology at St Helier Hospital, in Surrey, England.
Following intercourse, the young woman experienced significant itching and swelling of her vagina and vulva and felt faint even while seated. Although not in full anaphylactic shock, she took an antihistamine and felt better within 45 minutes.
Researchers observed: “Throughout the following day she noticed a marked fatigue but no skin rash, dyspnea or faintness.”
After consulting with doctors, a test was conducted.
The researchers stated: “With the patient’s consent, skin prick testing (SPT) was arranged to the partner’s semen before and roughly two and a half-hours after he had been asked to consume 4 Brazil nuts.
“The results showed an unequivocal 7mm weal to the semen sample after, but not before, he had consumed Brazil nuts (figure). The patient was advised to avoid sexual intimacy if her partner had eaten nuts and to keep antihistamines and her adrenaline pen nearby.
“Unfortunately, the couple separated soon afterwards and it was impossible to formally confirm the secretion of Brazil nut proteins into seminal fluid by Western blotting and other techniques.”
They concluded: “To our knowledge, this is the first case of a severe food allergic reaction transferred by normal vaginal intercourse.”