Expert: Mia - 1/22/2009

Question
This is such a discussed topic on the internet and I would like to hear your opinion. I have read so many places that Pre-ejaculate only contains sperm if the man has ejaculated in the past day and has not urinated much since. It seems that the urine is supposed to wash away the sperm left over from previous ejaculations. At the same time, I see so many people insisting that it is a complete lie and that pre-ejaculate contains millions of sperm. I was hoping you could offer some claification. Thanks.

Answer
Hi Jean,

You are correct, it is quite confusing.  Several studies have shown that pre-ejaculate does not contain sperm but there are other professionals that say it does. What both sides seem to agree on is that pre-ejaculate can contain sperm if the man had ejaculated recently, since semen can still be in the urethra. Urinating can wash this away.  I lean towards those that say this is the reason why it can contain sperm. However, since you only need one to fertilize an egg, I think it is best to act as if pre-ejaculate contains some sperm regardless of when last ejaculation occurred to be extra safe.

I hope this helps. If you have further questions let me know.

-Mia