If you have a cough and are clogged so that you can't breathe through your nose, don't worry if you feel strangely dirty. It's not just you.

If any of the readers of this article have not yet seen the movie <Tomorrow>, I would like to apologize in advance for the spoiler that will be released from now on. I think it's already 15 years old, so it doesn't matter... In the film, Jake Gyllenhal is trapped in the New York Public Library in a terrible super typhoon that struck the eastern United States. However, he was not alone. He is trapped with his smart friends, including Emmy Rossum. In the movie, Rossum injured a leg, became infected, and her life flows in a strange direction despite this disaster. She is lying by the stove with a dying face. And she and Gyllenhaal make a burning love.

I have seen this movie many times, so I remember this scene clearly. When I was watching this movie with my family, my mom got angry that this scene wasn't logical. “Does it make sense for an infected person to make love?” She shouted. My father had a methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus infection (MRSA) exactly a year ago. “I can do it.” Replied the father. The situation was very embarrassing, but it doesn't matter now anyway. The point is, Emmy Rossum was sick, but her sexual desire rose. And this isn't just about movies.

There is a phenomenon in which sexual desire rises when sick. You can't believe it? If so, check out the Reddit forum. Many people agree with this phenomenon. Of course, the internet is a strange place where people believe in even the strangest things they say, so I asked people I know about this phenomenon in the real world. When I asked Nate, I replied: “Isn't it natural? Me too, everyone does!” I also voted on Twitter, and only 45 per cent said they agreed, and I passed the results to Nate. He laughed at me for being ridiculous, Emma said: “I also have sex when I'm sick. I try not to get a runny nose, but I do have sex first.”

Another friend Sarah describes these symptoms as follows: “On the second day of my illness, I am really excited. On the first day, just thinking about it is disgusting. In the end, it always leads to wild masturbation. My boyfriend doesn't want to touch my body when I'm sick. When I'm sick, I usually masturbate 4 to 5 times a day. I can't understand it, and my boyfriend thinks it's really weird, but what's important anyway is that I had an orgasm.”

Users on the Reddit forum have come up with a potential idea of ​​why this is happening. “When I’m sick, I can’t do anything, so why don’t I get bored and have sex in the end?” One user says. Other users said they liked the combination of drugs and sex, giving them an incentive to try sex. Another user wrote this. “It's good because when you have an orgasm, the pain disappears even for a short time. And masturbation is an easy way to feel pleasure.” Personally, I think all the answers are plausible.

When we first talked about this phenomenon with our boyfriend, we both thought there was something special about the condition that we were both sick of. Something that is like the feeling of isolation you feel when a storm strikes outside. (The storm makes people excited. This is also scientifically unproven.)

Dr Sean T. Smith, a psychologist and blogger, came up with another scientific idea. He found a study in 1995. The study analyzed the brains of male mice that occur when armed macrophages attack an invader (a disease). “First, it releases a cytokine called interleukin-1. High levels of interleukin-1 increase the motivation for male rats to find a mate.” The results of this study are quite logical, but they still do not give an answer to the same phenomenon that occurs in women. Besides, the subject of this experiment is a rat.

From a biological point of view, it is also possible that you are unconsciously trying to sleep with someone in order to increase your chances to value yourself. Oxytocin, a hormone released during sex, is also called the love hormone, and it allows you to connect with other people. When I asked people about the moment when they felt that their partner was a fateful partner, they replied that it was the moment when many people were sick and were given care.

There are also some testimonies that sex is a better headache medicine than medicine. It can even pierce a clogged nose. So sex can be a purely practical way. I contacted several scientists, wondering what answers could be heard besides the rat study. Dr. Han, who answered for the first time, answers: “Well, that's the first thing I hear. I'm sure I can give more than one logical explanation, but that's only a guess.” Perhaps people don't specifically mention to their doctors that they get excited when they are sick.

Perhaps modern medicine may not be able to answer this problem, or it may remain a scientific mystery that cannot be solved forever. But whatever the reason, you are not alone in this phenomenon.