It’s a big mystery that has probably annoyed your significant other – you feeling really horny despite the fact that you’re sick and, therefore, should actually be resting. Have you ever experienced that?
Well if you have, you would probably be comforted by the fact that you’re not alone. As it appears, there are a lot of people who feel that way, too.
There’s even a meme about it.
One guy on Reddit described his experience this way:
“I have these moments where, for a brief time, the fog of illness lifts and in its place is a sex samurai on a quadruple dose of Viagra with the stamina of a war elephant and the bed strength of the drunken one-night stand baby of Genghis Khan and Khal Drogo.”
Some netizens refer to the condition as ‘Fever Dicks’ or the ‘Sickly Hornies’.
Apparently, there is actually a scientific explanation behind it all. Psychologist Dr Shawn Smith studied about on the topic and discovered a 1995 paper that tackled it.
Based on the said research, “plenty of men and women” do “feel frisky” when they are fighting infection, said Dr Smith.
As Dr Smith further explained:
“The evidence is pretty clear that sex hormones and the immune system are intertwined. Sex can even boost your immunity because orgasm increases the number of leukocytes in the blood.”
It’s your body’s way of fighting back.
Eventually, macrophages release cytokines which allow cells to communicate with each other.
Interestingly, it has been found out that interleukin-1, one of those cytokines, decreases female appetite for female rats but had no effect on male rates. However, when larger doses are injected, male rats begin to get really, uhm, excited.
So in a nutshell, yes, you’re craving for some sexy time because of your immune system, trying its best to fix your body.