T O P I C R E V I E W
Michael24
Member # 96363
posted 07-27-2012 03:34 AM
Hello, I'm a bit paranoid right now and I need to talk to someone who is very knowledgeable... How long does it take for sperm to die outside the the body. Like on your hands.? Thank you
angie88
Member # 96244
posted 07-27-2012 04:44 AM
Hello, I'm just a neophyte like you, but here's something from an article by Heather Corinna, the founder of Scarleteen, so a highly knowledgeable person: "Overall, the MOST likely way to become pregnant is by direct vulval or vaginal contact with sperm. Sperm can live up to about 20 minutes in an environment that is unfriendly to them (in other words, outside the testicles, vagina or in lab conditions), but they are very delicate creatures in the great outdoors." From this article:Where DID I Come From? A Refresher Course in Human Reproduction Hope it helps with the panic...If you have other questions or worries, more seasoned users can answer to you as well.
BrightStar171
Member # 64549
posted 07-27-2012 06:59 AM
This is a bit of a trick question, because it's not exactly the relevant one. See, sperm can live for a while (about 20 minutes as above) outside the body, but even if they're still "alive," they can't create a pregnancy unless they have semen (and a fair amount of wet semen, at that) to move through. So, while sperm could perhaps technically still be "alive," they would not be viable on your hands unless you literally had dripping gobs of semen on your hands. If semen on your hands was dry, or not enough to see, or really anything other than a situation where you took a handful of wet semen and applied it directly to a vulva, there's absolutely no risk that the sperm were viable or able to create a pregnancy.
Michael24
Member # 96363
posted 07-27-2012 09:23 AM
Thank you soo much for the replies! I'm feeling a lot better already. But I do still have a question. What if the sperm was applied inside the vagina? Would it be the same effect because it would probably be too dry for the semen to move?
angie88
Member # 96244
posted 07-27-2012 09:41 AM
I put a new link to Heather's article - the first one doesn't work Where DID I Come From? A Refresher Course in Human Reproduction From what she says there, it seems that if the semen on your hands was already dry at the time it entered the vagina, a pregnancy is unlikely... BrightStar, what do you think? I'd like to know the answer too
BrightStar171
Member # 64549
posted 07-27-2012 05:02 PM
Yeah, I don't know the entire mechanism of how it works, but sperm can't just move around in any liquid; they need semen. Even if you had dried semen on your hands (or whatever) and applied it inside a vagina, it wouldn't be able to create a pregnancy.
Michael24
Member # 96363
posted 07-27-2012 05:11 PM
Thank you guys so much