Dhat syndrome (Sanskrit: धातु दोष, IAST: Dhātu doṣa) is a condition found in the cultures of South Asia (including Pakistan, India, Bangladesh, Nepal, and Sri Lanka) in which male patients report that they suffer from premature ejaculation or impotence, and believe that they are passing semen in their urine. The condition has no known organic cause.In traditional Hindu spirituality, semen is described as a "vital fluid". The discharge of this "vital fluid", either through sex or masturbation, is associated with marked feelings of anxiety and dysphoria. Often the patient describes the loss of a whitish fluid while passing urine. At other times, marked feelings of guilt associated with what the patient assumes is "excessive" masturbation are noted. Many doctors view dhat as a folk diagnostic term used in South Asia to refer to anxiety and hypochondriacal concerns associated with the discharge of semen, with discoloration of the urine, and feelings of weakness and exhaustion. Dhat is thought to be a culture-bound syndrome similar to jiryan (South-East Asia), prameha (Sri Lanka), and
shenkui (China). Dhat syndrome might be related to other post-orgasmic diseases, such as post-coital tristesse (PCT), postorgasmic illness syndrome (POIS), and sexual headache. Signs and symptoms
Young males are most often affected, though similar symptoms have been reported in females with excessive vaginal discharge or leucorrhea, which is also considered a "vital fluid". In addition, there are symptoms of fatigue and weakness.
Doctors have found that antidepressant (PDE-5 inhibitors) medicines have shown positive results in controlling the Dhat syndromes psychological causes." Epidemiology
Dhat syndrome has been reported throughout South Asia in several communities." History
The term Dhat gets its origin from the Sanskrit word Dhatu (धातु), which, according to the Sushruta Samhita, means "elixir that constitutes the body". Indian doctor Narendra Wig coined the term Dhat syndrome in 1960 and described it as being characterized by vague psychosomatic symptoms of fatigue, weakness, anxiety, loss of appetite, guilt, and sexual dysfunction, attributed by the patient to loss of semen in nocturnal emission, through urine or masturbation. Literature describing semen as a vital constituent of the human body dates back to 1500 BC. The disorders of Dhatus have been elucidated in the Charaka Samhita, which describes a disorder called Shukrameha (शुक्रमेह) in which there is a passage of semen in the urine. In China, various names such as (Shen Kuei), Sri Lanka (Prameha) and other parts of South East Asia (Jiryan) symptoms and conditions are similar to dhatus. The International Classification of diseases ICD-10 classifies Dhat syndrome as both a neurotic disorder (code F48.8) and a culture-specific disorder (Annexe 2) caused by "undue concern about the debilitating effects of the passage of semen". Society and culture
Some doctors believe Dhat syndrome to be either a culture-bound presentation of clinical depression, as a somatized set of symptoms, or a result of Western doctors misinterpretation of patients descriptions of their condition.Dhat syndrome is very common in Nepali culture as well.