Can Sperm Travel Without Fluid Through The Vaginal Canal?

Posted on Wed, 15 Jan 2014

Medically reviewed by Ask A Doctor - 24x7 Medical Review Team

Wed, 15 Jan 2014 Answered on

Tue, 4 Feb 2014 Last reviewed on

Question : Hello, can sperm from precum transfer from 1 surface to another when the 2 surfaces come in contact? I may have gotten a little precum on a blanket and within 5 min a female used that blanket. I am afraid if the area where the precum was gets in contact with her vaginal region, then the sperm can travel through her clothes and into her vagina. She was wearing atleast one layer of clothing(shorts). I know that the fluid, if any, will get absorbed into her shorts, but can the sperm then travel on their own through the vaginal canal without fluid? I understand that this may sound like a hypothetical scenario, but I am worried about it.

Answered by Dr. Mahesh Koregol (1 hour later)

Brief Answer: No Detailed Answer: Hi This scenario is not possible. So many barriers exist in this for a precum fluid. First if all it is unlikely that precum will contain many sperms. Them crossing so many barriers is not possible. Hence don't worry about it passing through vagina and giving pregnancy just by wearing precum blanket. Let me know if you have any more questions Regards Dr. Mahesh Koregol

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar

Follow up: Dr. Mahesh Koregol (24 hours later)

Thank you for the response. My concern is that I had thought that sperm are alive as long as the fluid (precum or semen) is wet. When the fluid gets absorbed by clothes, the clothes still remain a little wet for sometime, 1-2 min depending on the amount of fluid. So would this fluid not contain live sperm? Another concern was that the sperm are now trapped in the clothes fabric but can they still be able to pass through and make their way from the clothes fabric to the vulva and then to and into the vaginal opening on their own?

Answered by Dr. Mahesh Koregol (5 minutes later)

Brief Answer: No Detailed Answer: Hi The barrier here are many. I dont think its a possibility that sperms which are very few in number can pass through the so many layers of fabric and then to uterus. This is impossible. Not even theoratically. Sperms are not meant for this journey. Regards

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar