Myths-Check: How long can sperm survive in the air?

How long sperm survive for now on the air? In General: Outside the body, is the ideal place for sperm. So you can survive longer, you need to conditions such as temperature, environmental humidity and pH, votes-value. In the vagina, the lifespan of sperm is up to five days. Outside of the body create sperm but usually only a few minutes.

Protection by seminal fluid

If sperm get into the air, they are still of seminal fluid surrounded, however, by contact with the air changing and drying begins. As a result, the survival period decreases rapidly to a few minutes. In individual cases, a few sperm may survive, however, it is unlikely that these are still for reproduction in the location.

It is somewhat different, if the sperm are out there in a whole ejaculate puddle. Then sperm will likely survive a little longer than a few minutes. However, it is not to be assumed that it sums up in such a puddle, unnoticed, or even in sets.

You put the sperm directly to the Ejaculate in a sterile container, for example, a Cup with a screw cap, can sperm survive for a few hours because they dry out so quickly.

Clothing, bed linen, towels & Co.

Semen gets on clothes or other absorbent materials such as bedding or towels, to die the sperm within a few minutes, as the seminal fluid wegtrocknet quickly. Also the skin dries up semen quickly, so that sperm can survive a maximum of a few minutes.

Tap water, bath water & Co.

In – line or bath water, it looks rather bad for sperm. Although the environment is liquid, and probably also similar to the body temperature, however, sperm have good chances of Survival. Because they absorb water, burst, and die after a few seconds.

Sources

Shelf life of sperm cells. Online information from the Federal centre for health education: www.loveline.de (retrieval date: 7.2.2020)

How long sperm survive outside the body? Online information of Lilli.ch: www.lilli.ch (retrieval date: 7.2.2020)