“Semenly” Harmless Back Pain: An Unusual Presentation of a Subcutaneous Abscess

Aims We report, with review of the literature, the case of a patient who developed a subcutaneous abscess after intravenously injecting his own semen in an attempt to treat longstanding back pain. He had devised this “cure” independent of medical advice. Methods A review of EMBASE, PubMed, google scholar and the wider internet was conducted with an emphasis on parenteral semen for the treatment of back pain and for other medical and non-medical uses. Results There were no other reported cases of intravenous semen injection found across the medical literature. A broader search of internet sites and forums found no documentation of semen injection for back pain treatment or otherwise. Conclusion While suicide attempt by intravenous injection of harmful substances is well described, this unique case demonstrates risks involved with innovative treatments prior to clinical research in the form of phased trials inclusive of safety and efficacy assessments.