While his parents were away in their respective work place, Banji, 24, one afternoon, hurriedly brought his girlfriend of three months home. It was to be their first encounter since they started the relationship.
Having looked for opportunities to go romp in the sack but with no result, they eventually settled for Banji’s parents’ room and parlour apartment at that time of the day when no one would be home. According to their plans, everything would happen in a jiffy and they would get it over with before his parents or sibling would return.
True to their plans, they did ‘it’ before anyone else returned, while the young lady left. Banji had just rearranged the house and laid quietly on the bed when his father came in. Banji told our correspondent he was shocked when his father asked what he did in the house before his return.
Banji recalled, “My father asked me what I did in the house before he came in. Of course, I feigned ignorance as if I didn’t know what he was talking about. He asked again if I meant I didn’t have sex in the house, I maintained my stand and even laughed mischievously to make it feel his thoughts were outrageous. He walked away, but I didn’t know he went to bring his horsewhip.
“By the time he came out and whipped me, I just told him how it happened. He later told me he could smell it the moment he entered the house. Before then, I never knew sex smell.”
Sexual intercourse is one activity that is accompanied by so much eagerness (especially for starters), unrivalled enjoyment and reasonable satisfaction, but in spite of all these activities that surround it, it happens within the twinkle of an eye, depending largely on the ability of individuals.
Interestingly, many things happen after each round of sex, including both parties feeling relaxed, calm, sometimes weak and the likelihood of the man falling asleep. But one other important thing that characterises a romp in the sack is the smell that comes with it. Impliedly, there is a smell that comes with sex, which many seem not to be aware of. The smell is not entirely offensive, but uniquely noticeable.
Thus, the question, what brings about the smell from such an enjoyable act? A medical practitioner, Dr. Rotimi Adesanya, said semen, which is the male reproductive fluid, has a smell and the vaginal fluid also has its own smell. He noted that when these two fluids mix, a distinctive smell would certainly be produced. “So, it is the combination of the semen and vaginal fluids that result in the smell after sex,” he added.
He explained further that during sex, there are some other fluids secreted by both males and females, such that the mixture of these fluids produces a particular smell. He, however, noted that the smell tends to disappear when the persons involved in the act, especially the woman, clean up or have a shower.
He continued, “During sex, a lot of fluids are secreted both from the man and the woman, but much of the smell is from the seminal fluid, and then you have the prostatic fluid, which is an alkaline fluid secreted by the prostate gland during ejaculation that forms part of the semen. In women, as well, there are some glands around the vagina that secret such fluids during sexual intercourse. When these fluids come together in the course of the sexual activity, it produces a smell. However, once they clean up, the smell would cease.”
Also, according to some experts, the vaginal fluid, with its chemical properties, is acidic while the seminal fluid, with its own chemical properties, is alkaline, thus, the combination of these fluids tends to produce a special kind of smell.
In the words of Dr. Darius Paduch, the director of sexual health at Weill Cornell Medical College, New York, the kind of smell that is produced after sex is a product of the pH levels of the genitals of both parties. He added that sweat and some contraceptives tend to have an impact on the smell, which he said should not be offensive. He stressed that if the smell is unpleasant, there is need for both the man and the woman to see the doctor to check for infections or bacterial imbalance.
In her own explanation, an assistant professor of obstetrics and gynaecology in United States, Dr. Hilda Hutcherson, stated that what happens when secretions from two partners mix during sex is a chemical reaction that creates its own smell. She added that the smell would differ at different times in a month but that the smell should not be a foul one, else there would be need to visit a doctor.
Meanwhile, apart from the smell resulting from sweat and the mixture of fluids, as discussed above, experts also explained that could make the smell unpleasant.
According to Adesanya, if people are not hygienic enough in their genitals, it would pollute the smell and make it worse. “For men, it is better because they release the semen, but women are the ones who absorb it, coupled with the fluids their system secrets in the line of the activity, which makes theirs to be more serious,” he added.
He explained that even though the vagina has a mechanism that clears itself of infections, women who are not hygienic tend to smell in that region.
On how to care for the genitals and avoid infections after sex, the medical expert advised that the first thing men should do after sex is to urinate and then take their bath. He said, “The reason why men should urinate after sex is that during sexual intercourse, there is an exchange of fluid. So, if the woman has an infection, the infection could go through the passage through which semen and urine pass through. So, if the person urinates immediately after the act, the liquid from the bladder would flush out the infection.”
Other tips that have been canvassed for maintaining a healthy male organ include keeping it aerated, trimming the hair around it to regulate the temperature and remove the potential shelter for dust and other particles, adequate cleaning with soap and water and making sure the region is dry before putting on clothes to prevent unnecessary moisture and fidelity.
Adesanya advised that women should also urinate after sex but they should desist from inserting their hands or any cleaning agent in the vagina to avoid infections.
He added, “Women should also urinate to reduce the risk of infection, but they should not insert soap or any other cleaning agent inside their private parts. There are bacteria in the vagina that protect the organ naturally. When women make use of those cleaning materials, they wash away the good bacteria that are supposed to protect them.
“So, after sex, they should urinate, clean up and they should not dip their hands in the vagina, and when they are cleaning up, it should be from the front to the back, not from the back to the front, so they don’t bring bacteria from the anus to the vaginal path, which could lead to infection.”
Also, in order to maintain a healthy vagina, women have been advised to avoid wearing tight panties to avoid excessive heat and odour in that region, avoid douching, change sanitary pads frequently and avoid using perfumes to cover up unpleasant smell. – Culled from Punch.
