How soon after a vasectomy can I have sex?

You can have sex again as soon as it is comfortable to do so, although it is best to wait for a couple of days. However, you will still have sperm in your semen immediately after the operation, as it takes time to clear the remaining sperm in your tubes. It takes an average of 20-30 ejaculations to clear the tubes of sperm completely. You will need to use another method of contraception until you have had two clear semen tests.

Thus, don’t have sex immediately after the procedure; you should wait until you don’t feel any pain around the surgery site and comfortable to have sex. This may mean waiting a week or more after your procedure, it depends. Also, sex can hurt after vasectomy as it may cause mild pain, soreness and bruising around your scrotum, blood in your semen and other symptoms which can last from a few days to a few weeks.

Once the operation has been carried out successfully and semen tests have shown that there is no sperm present, long-term partners may not need to use other forms of contraception.

However, a vasectomy does not protect against HIV infection or any other STI's, so you should still use condoms with any new partner.

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