Lets have a brief look at Male Fertility in this post. Male infertility or sub-fertility has been on the increase in the last 30 years. There’s no doubt that this has been a topic that many men do not want to discuss. In this post we will be looking at some of the reasons for this and delving into the different types of infertility that affect men. Read a more in depth article on Male Fertility here…
Whilst many are under the impression that infertility lies mainly with the woman, in fact nearly as many men have fertility problems as women. It has baffled scientists for many years for the reason that male sperm levels have been plummeting in the population generally and many scientific theories have arisen to to explain this very real phenomena. Still today, it’s not definitely known why or how sperm counts are affected, and indeed it may be because of multiple different factors. These are the current explanations given by scientific and medical researchers :-
- The increase in environmental toxins
- A poorer quality diet
- A more sedentary lifestyle with less exercise and much more stress
- Deficiencies in vitamin and mineral intake
- Linked to the above is the reduced vitamin and mineral issue, ie. the fact that fresh food has much less vitamin and mineral content today
Poor Sperm Quality Conditions
The problem is not just limited to reduced sperm being produced in modern men but also the mobility of the sperm themselves to swim to fertilize the woman’s egg. Sperm abnormalities have also increased in conjunction with reduced sperm and poorer mobility of the sperm. Also as men age they are subject to diminishing fertility levels too. It is thought that DNA damage through aging may be a factor in increasing sperm defects that are observed as men age.
There’s a variety of specific different diseases affecting men with infertility. Varicocele is where enlarged veins or veins which may perhaps be varicose in type increase the heat within the testicles. Sperm production is very much affected by heat and indeed the bodies ingenious design with the testicles, is to allow the sack to move the testes closer and more distant to the man’s body to regulate the temperature.
Obstructions play another role in infertility. It may be a man is producing good quantities of healthy sperm but is still unable to impregnate due to blockages. This is one of the first things to consider in looking at a mans fertility : Are sperms getting through at all, and if so, what are the quantity and what is their condition.
There are multiple illnesses that cause a man to become infertile or reduce fertility. Mumps, STD infections e.g. Chlamydia and Gonorrhea are common diseases that often result in male infertility or very impaired fertility. Also some drugs like anabolic steroids (sometimes used in bodybuilding) or the recreational drug cannabis can both severely reduce a mans fertility.
Where there’s a myriad of female infertility conditions that cause a wide array of painful or uncomfortable symptoms to point to a problem, most often men will be totally unaware that they are infertile. The only symptom is the inability to get their partner pregnant.
Erection or ejaculation are two areas where a couple will be very aware of a problem of course, and there are ways and means of tackling these issues maybe through drugs or through therapy.
Semen analysis will be undertaken if a man is suspected of infertility. Timing is very important with the sample to get a correct reading so listen carefully to what your doctor or clinic advises. Labs will run a battery of tests on the spermatozoa and following those tests the doctor will be in a good position to advise on therapy.
It must be said that in a very few cases which are rare, there isn’t any possible treatment available. But the good news is that for most cases there’s a treatment that can resolve the problem.
A healthy eating plan and improving diet, reduced stress and more exercise in your lifestyle are all additional recommendations for men suffering with infertility.
Breakthroughs in modern medical science have brought Viagra and similar drugs that solve erectile difficulties. The man has many hi technology breakthroughs that can assist in infertility conditions : IVF (in vitro fertilization) and ICSI (Intra-cytoplasmic sperm injection) along with PESA (percutaneous epididymal sperm aspiration), TESA (testicular sperm aspiration) or TESE (testicular sperm extraction).
Indeed their is a wonderful world of medical technology out there and in the field of Infertility we should be very grateful for these developments that simply were not available to previous generations. For male infertility in particular there are great therapies out there to help couples resolve this particular type of infertility.