Shenkui

Shenkui, also spelled shen-k'uei, is a traditional Chinese medicinal term for a condition in which withdrawal-like symptoms, including chills, nausea and flu-like symptoms together with anxiety, are believed to be caused by an orgasm and a resulting loss of semen, with symptoms that can last weeks to months after a single orgasm. In traditional Chinese medicine the kidney, or shen, is considered the reservoir of vital essence held in semen, or ching, and the term k'uei signifies a deficiency of it. Shenkui is one of several Chinese culture-bound syndromes locally ascribed to becoming stuck in yang and needing yin to restore balance, with semen believed lost through sexual activity, masturbation, nocturnal emissions, or white urine believed to contain semen; within the Chinese diagnostic system its symptoms include chills, dizziness, backache, tiredness, weakness, insomnia, frequent dreams and complaints of sexual dysfunction such as premature ejaculation or impotence, while an ethnopsychiatric perspective adds a preoccupation with sexual performance, potential semen loss, and bodily complaints.