What the colour, texture and smell of your semen reveals about your health

From fingernails to faeces, our bodies have a number of ways of telling us when something might be amiss.

Semen, the fluid emitted from the male reproductive tract, is among these indicators, with changes to how it looks or smells offering insight into potential health and lifestyle issues.

Fertility experts can look into factors like sperm (the cells carried by seminal fluid) count and motility, but it’s also worth being aware of the information you can glean without a professional assessment.

Alongside sperm — which makes up around 5% of the roughly teaspoon-sized amount produced with each ejaculation — semen is made up of sugars, proteins, and even some vitamins and minerals.

Bowel cancer

It can also contain everything from blood to pathogens like HIV and Ebola, so it’s worth getting a check-up if you notice anything different to usual.

Keep in mind, there are a range of urological conditions that won’t show in your semen, and sometimes symptoms are temporary and nothing serious. Factors like smoking, diet and age can also impact what’s normal for you.

But knowing that normal is the best way to keep an eye on your health and seek a second opinion if you’re worried, so Metro asked Professor Geoff Hackett, urologist and medical advisor on behalf of Hims, about what certain characteristics in semen can mean.

Clear or white with a gel-like consistency

According to Dr Hackett, healthy semen is ‘a whitish, greyish’ colour, although you may notice an ‘occasional yellow tinge’.

It can also look translucent, with a gel-like consistency that appears to coagulate and thicken after ejaculation.

In terms of the amount you can expect, Dr Hackett says: ‘For a healthy male, the volume of ejaculation can range between 1.5ml and 5ml, which can decrease with age, especially in men after vasectomy and those with prostate disease.’

Yellow

Although a slight yellow tinge to semen is common, a more pronounced shade of yellow could indicate a number of things.

‘A yellow or orange discolouration is often due to the accumulation of lipofuscin from damaged cells, but can be linked to excessive alcohol, or urine infections and can become worse with dehydration,’ explains Dr Hackett.

‘Severe yellow discolouration can be seen with jaundice from liver disease where the urine is also usually yellow.’

Bladder obstruction may also give semen a yellow hue as the fluid is mixed together with trapped or extra urine when it passes through the urethra; something that’s particularly common if you ejaculate shortly after peeing.

In rare cases, yellow semen could be a symptom of a condition called leukocytospermia. Also known as pyospermia, it can be caused by inflammation, autoimmune diseases or STIs, and raises the amount of white blood cells in semen which tints it yellow.

Greenish
A green tinge to semen is often due to the same reasons as yellow discolouration.

Sexually transmitted infections like chlamydia and gonorrhoea can cause a change in semen’s appearance, with a green colour often accompanied by an unpleasant odour.

Certain vitamins, medications and even food dyes could also be behind temporary differences, so keep an eye on symptoms and speak to your GP if you have any concerns.

Pink or red

‘This colouration can be caused by colour additives in foods,’ says Dr Hackett.

‘However, the most common cause is blood (haematospermia) with fresh red streaks indicating bleeding and dark brown discoloration suggesting that bleeding occurred some time ago.

‘The most common causes are infections such as prostatitis, urethritis, which may be associated with an STI or less commonly infections of the testes. In such cases, medical assessment is required with treatment of the underlying infection.’

If you’ve recently had a prostate procedure, this could be an after-effect, while more rarely, blood in the semen can be a symptom of high blood pressure or cancer.

Speak to your doctor if you have any concerns, and be sure to note down any additional symptoms like pain, burning, itching or a rash on the genitals, as this can help healthcare professionals pin down what’s going on.

Black or dark brown

Brown or black semen may be due to dried blood from a past issue, but there are a number of other potential causes.

‘A brown to black colouration can be due to old oxidised blood, spinal cord injury, high levels of uric acid (gout), heavy metal poisoning (lead, nickel and platinum) and tropical parasitic infection,’ says Dr Hackett.

It’s important to seek medical advice whenever you’re concerned to rule out exposure to contaminants or injuries.

Fishy, rotten, or foul-smelling

‘Normal semen is slightly alkaline (PH 7.4) with a smell of chlorine or slight odour,’ says Dr Hackett.

The exact smell varies from person to person, but a fishy or rotten scent can signal something more serious.

Infections like trichomoniasis and gonorhoea may make your semen more pungent, yet since eating certain foods like asparagus and garlic can also alter the way your semen smells, it’s worth changing your diet to see if things return to normal after a few days.

STIs do typically present with further symptoms like burning when you pee and discharge, although not always.

If in doubt, get checked out.