A Scientific Reason Why Body Count Matters

The body count is a term that has been circulating on social media and dating circles for quite some time now. 

It refers to the number of people someone has had sexual intercourse with, and it has become a popular way to measure a person’s sexual experience. While some people may view body count as a way to measure sexual prowess, others may see it as a source of shame or judgment.

There is no way we talk about body count without talking about sexual intercourse, and sperms plays a very significant role in sexual intercourse.

Sperm is an alien to woman's body. And when a sperm enters woman's body, her immune system rise to attack.

Ejaculated spermatozoa contain immunosuppressive substances that inhibit cell-mediated cytotoxicity as well as lymphocyte response to allogenic cells. These substances may constitute the system that prevents immune damage of spermatozoa.

So, when a woman's immune system rise to attack, the immune suppressant property of sperm knocks back her immune system, so the sperm survives.

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Urine Formation

Semen also contains a diverse array of microbial communities and has an alkaline pH, all of which have the potential to alter the vaginal microbiome. 

Apart from the immune altering capacity of semen itself, sexual intercourse has been associated with a significant reduction in Lactobacillus crispatus,  increased prevalence of Gardnerella vaginalis, and may also lead to vaginal epithelial microabrasions that facilitate HIV entry and access to local target cells at the female genital mucosa. These alterations at the Female Genital Tracts may have implications for the risk of HIV acquisition in women.

Let us imagine how dangerous it can be in woman with multiple partners, then that different sperms entering her has quite devastating effect on her immune system, also imagine how damaging it can be in the area of anal sex.

Semen contains anti-inflammatory compounds such as transforming growth factor-β which promotes a shift from a type 1 helper (Th1) to a type 2 helper (Th2) immune response at the FGT, thereby inducing a regulatory T cell (Treg) response. Semen also contains high concentrations of prostaglandin E2, which has been shown to inhibit macrophage cytokine production and T cell proliferation. These anti-inflammatory responses responsible for tolerance to sperm may also inhibit the control of pathogens such as HIV and other sexually transmitted infections (STIs) at the FGT. Taken together, efforts to prevent HIV infection may benefit from a better understanding of the contribution that both pro- and anti-inflammatory properties of semen have on the risk of HIV acquisition in women.

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