Dhat syndrome

Dhat syndrome (Sanskrit: धातु दोष, IAST: Dhātu doṣa) is a condition found in the cultures of South Asia (including Pakistan, India, Bangladesh, Nepal, and Sri Lanka) in which male patients report that they suffer from premature ejaculation or impotence, and believe that they are passing semen in their urine.^[1] The condition has no known organic cause.^[2]

In traditional Hindu spirituality, semen is described as a "vital fluid". The discharge of this "vital fluid", either through sex or masturbation, is associated with marked feelings of anxiety and dysphoria. Often the patient describes the loss of a whitish fluid while passing urine. At other times, marked feelings of guilt associated with what the patient assumes is "excessive" masturbation are noted.

Many doctors view dhat as a folk diagnostic term used in South Asia to refer to anxiety and hypochondriacal concerns associated with the discharge of semen, with discoloration of the urine, and feelings of weakness and exhaustion.

Dhat is thought to be a culture-bound syndrome similar to jiryan (South-East Asia), prameha (Sri Lanka), and shenkui (China).^[3] Dhat syndrome might be related to other post-orgasmic diseases, such as post-coital tristesse (PCT), postorgasmic illness syndrome (POIS), and sexual headache.