Sperm and a bucket of water?

Ramesh
asks:
The other day my girlfriend and I were kissing each other completely clothed. I ejaculated in my pants while kissing. My girlfriend doesn't know that I ejaculated. We never removed our clothes, it was just kissing. I immediately went to the bathroom to wash myself, after which my girlfriend also used the bathroom. I used water from a bucket to wash myself. I am scared that if a drop of ejaculate got into the water while washing myself and if my girlfriend used the water, it will cause pregnancy. I am so worried since I haven't done anything other than kissing. I haven't had sex at all. This incident then reminded me that at home I masturbate and wash myself the same way and the same bathroom is used by the female family members at home. Again the same question goes here. What if there is a drop of ejaculate in water and if the water is used by the female members in the family? I am so stressed out and I need your help on this....Please help me out.
Sarah replies:

Sperm can be pretty hardy when they're in hospitable environments, like the reproductive track of someone with a vagina. They can survive for days in there. However, in an inhospitable environment (on towels, clothing, sheets, the wall, bathtub, etc.), they don't last very long at all. In those situations, we're talking about a lifespan of (on average) about 20 minutes. You see, all in all, sperm are still relatively delicate. They require a really specific set of circumstances to be at their best. They are sensitive to things like the temperature and pH of their environment. So dropping sperm into a bucket of water really isn't going to be an environment that is terribly healthy for them, they won't survive long at all there (likely even less than that average 20 minutes).

The bottom line is that for any pregnancy risk to occur, you really have to have direct contact between a vagina or vulva and fresh, wet ejaculate. In water, risk only occurs if you have direct, unprotected contact. So you would have to be inserting your penis or rubbing your partner's genitals with fresh semen for there to be risk. Ejaculate, on it's own, in water is not going to find it's way to where it needs to go. The situations you describe do not cause a risk of pregnancy.

You may also find these links helpful:
Where DID I Come From? A Refresher Course in Human Reproduction
10 of the Best Things You Can Do for Your Sexual Self (at Any Age)

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