human eye close-up photography

What Happens If Sperm Gets in Your Eye?

Getting cum in your eye is not a good thing. It can cause pain, stinging and blurry vision. Also, the acids, zinc, sugars and enzymes in semen can irritate the eyes.

If you have semen in your eye, flush it out ASAP with cold water or saline solution. Avoid rubbing it, as that will just make things worse.

1. It will cause pain

Getting semen in your eye can be really uncomfortable. It feels like a combination of burning and someone elbowing you in the face (or something a little less vulgar). This discomfort is your body’s response to the irritation from the foreign substance in your eye. Usually, these symptoms will go away within an hour or so after the semen is rinsed out of your eyes.

You may also notice some redness in your eye after rinsing it out. This is your body’s natural response to any irritant, whether it is semen or dust. It helps protect your eyes from the irritant so that you don’t get any infections.

If you do get an infection from semen in your eye, it is likely to be chlamydial conjunctivitis (a type of STI) or gonorrhea. There is little research on the risk of blindness from this infection, but it is possible. It is important to get a prompt diagnosis and treatment to prevent any complications.

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While it is possible to get HIV from ejaculate that gets in your eye, this is not a common way that people contract the virus. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates that the greatest risk of getting HIV is through blood transfusions or contact with the saliva of a person who has HIV.

2. It will cause irritation

Whether you accidentally got semen (also known as cum) in your eye while masturbating or were elbowed in the head by a drunk friend during sex, it can hurt like hell. The good news is that it’s not likely to cause permanent damage to your eyes, but you should wash the irritant out as soon as possible.

The irritation you feel is due to the acids, sugars, zinc, chlorine, and enzymes in the clump of semen that gets stuck on your eyelid. Rinsing with lukewarm water should help reduce the burning and itching sensation you might experience. Avoid rubbing the area, as that can aggravate it.

If the pain doesn’t subside, you might want to take an OTC antihistamine, such as ibuprofen or acetaminophen, to reduce the inflammation and pain. But make sure to follow the dosage instructions on the label.

If the irritant remains in your eye for a while, it might lead to an STI or infection. That’s why it’s important to rinse your eyes and wash any cuts you might have on your face. You should also get screened for HIV, syphilis, and hepatitis B and C just to be safe. You can get those STIs through cuts or open wounds, as well as through contact with certain types of sperm. But semen-to-eye contact isn’t a common transmission source.

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3. It will cause redness

The acids, enzymes, zinc, chlorine, and sugars in semen can irritate your eye tissue. And the fact that it has bacteria can also cause conjunctivitis (pink eye) and a stye, which is a painful inflammation of the eyelid. Semen can also help spread STIs like chlamydia, gonorrhea, and syphilis, which can lead to conjunctivitis.

If you get sperm in your eye, rinse it with water or saline solution immediately. Then, apply a cool or warm compress to the eye area. Don’t rub it, as this can further irritate the skin and make it worse. Rinse the eye again if you notice pain, itching, or blurred vision.

Getting cum in your eyes can feel like hell — it’s kind of a cross between burning and having someone elbow you in the head. The good news is, the burning sensation will pass pretty quickly once you’ve rinsed your eye and not rubbed it.

While it’s possible to contract STIs or pink eye from semen-to-eye contact, it hasn’t happened very often. It’s still important to see a doctor as soon as you can, especially if the itching and stinging don’t subside. Your doctor can run tests to see if you have an infection and prescribe you antibiotics if necessary. They may swab the eye or take a sample of semen from the cornea (the dome of thin tissue covering part of the eye) for further testing, too.

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4. It will cause blurry vision

Semen is made up of sugars, acids and enzymes that your eyes’ delicate membranes don’t like. This can lead to a histamine reaction in your eye, which leads to symptoms like itching, redness, tears and blurry vision. The good news is, these side effects will only last about an hour or two at most.

Although sperm facials are fun, it’s important to have great aim and be aware of the potential complications that could arise from unprotected semen-to-eye contact. STIs including herpes, chlamydia and gonorrhea can spread through this type of contact, causing pain, itching, eye discharge, sensitivity to light and a change in your vision.

In rare cases, if the person doesn’t flush their eyes immediately after this kind of erotic interaction, it’s possible to develop an eye infection or even blindness. This is because the bacteria that are deposited into the eyes can cause scarring of the cornea and permanent loss of vision.

It’s also possible to get a stye in the eye after this sort of incident, but this is more likely caused by the itching and scratching that the eye probably went through as a result of the sperm getting there. While it’s very unlikely, if the pain doesn’t stop after a couple of hours and your vision starts to change, you should see a doctor for antibiotics.