Dhat Syndrome

Dhat syndrome is a condition found in the cultures of South Asia, including Pakistan, India, Bangladesh, Nepal and Sri Lanka, in which male patients report suffering from premature ejaculation or impotence and believe they are passing semen in their urine, despite no known organic cause. In traditional Hindu spirituality semen is described as a vital fluid, and its discharge through sex or masturbation is associated with marked anxiety and dysphoria, with patients often describing a loss of whitish fluid while urinating or guilt over what they believe is excessive masturbation. Many doctors regard dhat as a folk diagnostic term used in South Asia for anxiety and hypochondriacal concerns tied to semen discharge, discolored urine and feelings of weakness and exhaustion, and consider it a culture-bound syndrome similar to jiryan in Southeast Asia, prameha in Sri Lanka and shenkui in China, possibly related to other post-orgasmic conditions such as post-coital tristesse, postorgasmic illness syndrome and sexual headache.