Hot Water

Sex in hot water doesn't need contraception?

Question: I am a 26 year-old woman, married about six months ago. My husband and I are wonderfully compatible and have a great sex life as well. However, there is one question that keeps troubling us as we like making love under the shower. Is having sex in a hot shower or in a tub filled with hot water safe? Does it kill a man's sperms. That would mean that no contraception is required. Is this correct?

Answer: Contraceptives should be used on every conceivable occasion unless you have other plans. However, for hot water sex to be pregnancy-proof is a new one!! No, having sex in a hot shower, a hot tub, or in any kind of watery environment does not protect against either pregnancy or sexually transmitted infections, for that matter. The fact of the matter is this. A man's external sexual organs consist of the penis and the scrotum. The scrotum, the pouch that contains a pair of testes, maintains the testes at a temperature approximately five degrees less than the rest of the body. This function is important to fertility because the process of sperm production is heat sensitive. In hot temperatures, the muscles in the scrotum relax, and the testes move away from the heat of the body. Conversely, in cold temperatures, the muscles of the scrotum contract so that the testes can maintain their 5-degree temperature difference by coming closer to the body. The increase in temperature caused by sitting in a hot tub can indeed interfere with normal sperm production, but not enough to be considered an effective form of birth control. Men with fertility problems are usually told to avoid hot tubs or saunas. For men with normal fertility, using a condom or another form of birth control is preferable to not using any protection at all.

Dr. Sanjay Chugh, psychiatrist