Allergy to Husband's Sperm Was 'Game-Changer' in Marriage [View all]

[Paul E Ester]

Newlyweds Jeff and Clara, both 35-year-old professionals, fell in love quickly and were convinced they were the "right match" -- until they had sex.

"I had this bizarre reaction," said Clara, who for privacy reasons did not want to use her real name. "I had burning and swelling and redness, which was very unusual. I thought I had contracted an STD [sexually transmitted disease]."

Horrified, she made an appointment with the gynecologist for testing and was nervous about having a "tricky conversation" with Jeff.

After several doctors' visits and hours of research online, the North Carolina couple finally got some answers, but it derailed their sex life and shook their marriage.

Clara had seminal plasma hypersensitivity, an allergic reaction to the proteins in Jeff's semen. Even using a condom didn't help, so the couple avoided intimacy.

http://abcnews.go.com/Health/allergy-sperm-game-changer-marriage/story?id=18916973#.UWWUDL-nC7e