The Cellar - The cure for hayfever...

...is orgasm, according to this article from New Scientist:

Quote:

Spring is here and with it come the woes of hay fever. Never fear, however, as there may be a quick and pleasurable treatment to clear those bunged noses, for guys at least – a well-timed ejaculation.

That's what Sina Zarrintan, a neurologist from the Tabriz Medical University in Iran proposes, anyway. The logic behind the proposal is based on the fact that the nose and the genitals are both connected to the same part of the nervous system that controls certain reflexes – the sympathetic nervous system.

A blocked nose is caused by swollen and inflamed nasal blood vessels, irritated by an infection or pollen in the air. But during ejaculation, the sympathetic nervous system constricts blood vessels across the body. That should soothe the swollen nasal blood vessels, freeing the airway for normal breathing, according to Zarrintan.

He hasn't yet performed clinical trials to test the hypothesis, but if it works, it could have many benefits over decongestant drugs, Zarrintan says, which have been known to contribute to hypertension. "Furthermore, if used for more than two or three days, they can actually make congestion worse," he adds.

Take as needed
He suggests masturbating or having sex whenever the symptoms are bad enough to warrant another ejaculation. "It can be done [from] time-to-time to alleviate the congestion and the patient can adjust the number of intercourses or masturbations depending on the severity of the symptoms," he says.

The theory is not without its critics, however. Mohammad Amin Abolghassemi Fakhree from Tabriz University in Iran, believes the disadvantages of ejaculation outweigh the possible benefits.

"There are some limitations in using ejaculation or masturbation as treatment of nasal congestion, such as not being applicable out of home and not having any sex partner", he writes in a response to the proposal.

No-one has yet argued that it makes your palms hairy.

Journal reference: Medical Hypotheses (DOI: 10.1016/j.mehy.2008.03.010)
Fakhree's response: Medical Hypotheses (DOI: 10.1016/j.mehy.2008.07.022)

I just showed this to a colleague, who asked "do you suffer from hayfever?"

"Oh no, I enjoy it very much!"

Is that April Fools Day I smell?