What is defined as pre-ejaculate exactly? I know sometimes(but not all the time) a very small spurt of fluid will come out of my penis long before I orgasm. I wonder this because recent studies that I have been reading state the usually pre-ejaculate in itself general will not contain sperm. There seems to not be very few good definitions of pre-ejaculate on the web as some claim it to be a fluid lubricant exiting the penis during sex. I have never noticed this phenomenon in all my years of self-pleasurement, however I do occasionally have the “spurt” I mentioned and wonder if this is pre-ejaculate or some other phenomenon. If it is the latter does it contain sperm?
Sorry for the weird question, but it’s something I have casually wondered about for some while.
Pre-ejaculate is pretty much everything that comes out of your penis during an erection and before you ejaculate. The amount varies from man to man. The pre-ejaculate contains varying levels of sperm, but always contains at least a tiny bit. This is why the “rhythm method” of contraception is not a method of contraception at all.
friedo, I believe you mean “coitus interruptus is not a method of contraception at all.” The Rhythm Method is the idea that if you avoid sex during the days when a woman is fertile, you won’t get her pregnant. Good in theory, very tricky in practice. Coitus interruptus (or: removing the penis before male ejaculation) is pretty useless as contraceptive.
I guess what I’m really asking is whether this very pre-orgasm spurt is just a spurt of pre-ejaculate type fluid or a small sample of the “real deal” that somehow crept through under pressure.
Whether pre-ejaculate carries sperm or not is secondary.
Also colloquially called “pre-cum.” The scientific name for it is prostatic fluid. It’s different from semen — because semen is a compound of sperm from the testes and epididymus with Cowper’s gland secretion and seminal vesicle secretion. The prostatic fluid leaks out even without ejaculation. Its function is 1) lubrication and 2) protection for sperm due to its alkaline pH. Sometimes it may be spermless, but then it may well contain a little sperm, you don’t know, so don’t count on it! Prostatic fluid is viscous like semen, but clear and odorless, unlike semen, so it’s easy to tell the difference.
Despite what you may have heard. Withdrawal as a method of birth control compares favorably with many other methods of birth control. It is about as effective as using condoms without spermicide. And it is more effective than the sponge, the cervical cap, or the female condom.
Another myth is that it only takes one sperm to cause pregnancy. It takes many sperm to break down the outer layers of the egg so one sperm can get through. So even if there are some sperm in pre-seminal fluid, they are unlikely to cause pregnancy alone.
Pregnancies that result from using the withdrawal method are far more likely to be due to a 16 year-old boy pushing when he should pull than from pre-seminal fluid.
I think that although the withdrawal method may be effective in theory, it’s generally more difficult in practice as it requires determination on the part of the male when he really isn’t in a fit state to be resolved to pull out.
So it’s an effective method that’s difficult to practice = not so effective.
Interesting note. MY infertility doctor used to tell me that the so-called pre-ejactulate materials ( in honor of the rigorously professional standards upheld by the Straight Dope Science Advisory Board, I refuse to call it “pre-cum”), there was actually a *HIGHER**percentage of spermatazoa per liter :eek: , than in the rest of the actual ejaculation.
Yeah, I said per liter. What can I say, my cup runneth over
Here at Bowling Green State University, we have a Psych course called Human Sexuality. In the textbook, Sexual Interactions, by Elizabeth Rice Allgeier (who taught the class too) it says,
“The Cowper’s glands… secrete a clear, slippery fluid, a drop of which usually appears at the tip of the penis prior to ejaculation. The fluid sometimes contains small numbers of sperm, particularly when a couple engages in coitus a second time without the male’s having urinated.”
I’ve found that not only do I produce “gleet” (the Cowper’s Gland fluid) but sometimes, when I’m highly stimulated but trying to delay orgasm as long as possible, I’ll get single little “spurts” of what I presume is semen. Perhaps this is what the OP is referring to?
Sometimes this has no noticeable effect, other times it seems to “let off enough steam” so that I can keep going. In fact, with a little self control, I can do it repeatedly and go until I just get tired and run out of endurance.
