Does a stuffy nose and fever leave you flushed with sexual desire? Does this sound like you could have written it yourself: “I have these moments where, for a brief time, the fog of illness lifts and in its place is a sex samurai on a quadruple dose of Viagra with the stamina of a war elephant and the bed strength of the drunken one-night stand baby of Genghis Khan and Khal Drogo.” You may be surprised to hear this phenomenon is more common than you may think. You read that right, in this edition of strange sex Saturday were here to tell you that there are a lot of people who feel sexy when they are sick. So, if you find yourself simultaneously suffering from sexual urges and sniffles read on to find out more.
Fever Dicks
Unfortunately, there’s not a lot of medical research on the matter. However, one psychologist by the name of Dr. Shawn Smith did find a research paper on the topic from way back in 1995. When you get struck down with sickness, your immune system kicks in and sends some “help” around the body to get you healthy again. “One of those things includes macrophages, which is a type of white blood cell, as the macrophages kick in, they release cytokines (proteins)…One of those cytokines is called interleukin-1.” The paper goes on to explain how when higher doses of interleukin-1 where injected into male rats their horniness went through the roof. So essentially your bodies process of healing you, also makes you horny.
Sickly Hornies
Despite the lack of science on the phenomena one thing is for sure, you are not alone! Here are some first-hand accounts from redditors who have experienced sickly hornies themselves. “I’m a woman and I masturbate when I have a massive headache/migraine. It usually works, or at least alleviates the pain somewhat. I do it before taking any caffeine or pain relievers.” -yaypenguinparade
“Yes, this happens to me! I remember on occasion when both me and a now ex were sick at the same time. I actually think we spent an entire two days just sleeping and f*cking. It was probably really gross but since we were both sick, we didn’t care. I get horny when I’m sick, when I’m tired (that one is probably the weirdest one), and when I’m drunk. Or rather I get hornier than I usually am at those times. This is really bothersome when I’m close to falling asleep during a math lecture.” -TheLIttleGoodWolf
Some anonymous women also responded saying: “Female here, I get horny when I’m sick. ‘Flu sex’ is some of my favorite, and I will usually at least masturbate to help me fall into a more restful sleep.” “Happens to me too. Probably has a lot to do with feeling crappy all day and knowing that a ‘pop’ will release tons of the feel-good brain chemicals”
If you’re spending this weekend nursing a case of the sniffles, we hope you feel better soon! We will see you next weekend for more strange sex Saturday!
