Male infertility How to improve sperm quality

Male infertility is the reason why a couple cannot have a child in about 50% of cases. The most common causes of infertility in men:

• negative lifestyle factors
• potency problems
• sperm motility and quality
• sperm antibodies
• chromosomal and DNA -disorders
• hormonal problems
• erectile dysfunction
• ejaculation disorders

Fortunately, most causes of Male infertility are easily diagnosed and almost all of them can be treated or eliminated to help a couple conceive. There are several ways men can improve the quality of their seminal fluid so that their partners can successfully conceive.

The life cycle of sperm is 72 days, so even small changes in a man's lifestyle can improve the quality of sperm within a few months. In support of this, we invite you to read the text of the article published on the website of the Australian medical company IVF.

Tips for improving sperm quality

Can infertility in men be cured? A few simple changes to your diet and lifestyle will improve your overall health and help you regain your ability to conceive.

Quit smoking

Active and passive smoking harms the sexual and reproductive health of both men and women. In the stronger sex, this can damage the DNA of spermatozoa and, subsequently, increase the likelihood of miscarriage, as well as cancer in children.

Limit your alcohol consumption

It is known that the daily consumption of alcoholic beverages affects your fertility, that is, the ability to produce viable offspring. Adhere to the rule of moderation in everything, especially when taking alcohol.

Maintain optimal weight

Having a high or low body mass index can affect the concentration and number of sperm in seminal fluid. If you are overweight, try to reduce it, as obesity can cause male infertility. Even a small weight loss has a positive effect.

Exercise regularly

Sperm quality is reduced when a man leads a too sedentary lifestyle. Literally, sitting on your testicles for an hour every day can cause them to overheat and ultimately stop your body from producing sperm. Regular exercise will help maintain a healthy weight.

Say "stop" to drugs and steroids

Recreational drugs such as marijuana and cocaine reduce the number of healthy sperm and increase the number of abnormal ones. Also, the abuse of anabolic steroids provokes testicular shrinkage, stop the production of sperm and male infertility.

Have sex more often

Despite the dogma of some Eastern teachings, sperm does not become stronger if a man abstains from sex or ejaculation. In fact, the opposite is true. Regular sex 2 3 times a week, or at least artificially induced ejaculation, has a beneficial effect on male infertility, since sperm should not be too long in the testicles, where they can be damaged.

Eat a healthy diet

Men should eat a balanced diet, try to include more fresh vegetables, fruits and lean meats in the diet. Foods rich in antioxidants help improve Sperm quality and ejaculate quantity. These are berries, pumpkin seeds, a variety of leafy vegetables. You can also consume multivitamin complexes containing vitamins C and E, which are known for their antioxidant properties.

Sperm myths

Myth 1

Men who wear lycra pants and tight jeans harm their body's sperm production. This is not true in fact, such clothing does not affect the appearance of problems with sperm production.

Myth 2

Prolonged exposure to high temperatures (such as steel mills) or sedentary, cramped jobs for hours on end (such as truck drivers) affects sperm count and causes male infertility . It is true that the optimum temperature for seminal fluid is several degrees lower than the average body temperature of 37C.

Myth 3

Acute viral diseases, childhood trauma or surgery for undescended testicles or inguinal hernias can have a significant negative impact on sperm quality later on. This is true, so it is always important for physicians to be aware of a patient's previous and current medical conditions that may have affected sperm health.

Myth 4

Blows to the groin, for example: during sports, affect a man's ability to have children. This is not the case despite the painful sensations, such cases can only really affect your fertility if they are extremely severe.

Myth 5

Age does not affect a man's fertility. This is not so reproductive health and in the stronger sex also depends on age. Infertility in men after 40 years is more common, as more DNA abnormalities occur in spermatozoa.

Myth 6

If you've been a father before, you can have more children. It is not just that you had a baby earlier is not a guarantee of future fertility, as the quality of your sperm may have changed since then.

Myth 7

Male sperm survive only an hour after ejaculation. This is not how spermatozoa retain their viability for several days in a woman's body.

How a male infertility test is done

If you're having trouble conceiving, semen analysis is a relatively simple test that can be used to assess a man's fertility.

You will be required to produce a portion of sperm through masturbation, no earlier than three days of abstinence from sexual activity. You must collect all ejaculate in a clean, dry container provided by your doctor and bring it to your appointment within an hour of collection. In some clinics, this can be done in a separate room.

After that, the andrologist analyzes the semen in the laboratory. The number of spermatozoa, their ability to move, size and shape, as well as the volume and consistency of seminal fluid are analyzed and measured.

The normal sperm count is at least 15 million sperm per ml. Of these, at least a third should show good mobility. If the doctor finds abnormalities, then additional tests are usually performed to identify the nature and extent of these problems.

As a result, the specialist will explain the results of the test to you. The good news is that the life cycle of sperm is about 72 days. Therefore, if the results show that there are problems, you can try to improve sperm quality through diet and lifestyle changes.

There are also treatments for male infertility that will allow your partner to get pregnant, even if you have low sperm count and motility, or a large number of sperm that are abnormally shaped.

Male infertility Treatment or injections?

Apart from dietary and lifestyle changes, there are not many procedures that can improve sperm quality, but there are procedures that can make the best use of sperm to achieve pregnancy. Today it is possible to get a guaranteed pregnancy using intracytoplasmic sperm injection.

In men with severely reduced sperm morphology or midrange DNA abnormalities, IVF's advanced technique allows scientists to zoom in on sperm images and select those most likely to lead to a viable pregnancy. This method offers couples a significant increase in fertilization and pregnancy rates.

At present, when family relationships are changing, many men living in a marriage for the second or third time, without thinking about the consequences, undergo a vasectomy surgical sterilization, in which an erection is maintained, but conception becomes impossible. Even though you had a vasectomy, you are still producing sperm, so a promising option is to collect the sperm during a simple day hospitalization and then use it to fertilize your partner's egg and treat infertility.