What's Male Infertility?
By Dale Mazurek

Low or no sperm count can be caused by a number of different reasons. It could be from a serious infection brought on by the mumps, a hormonal disorder, heredity factors or other infections. Some of the other non traditional ways are wearing very tight under wear, excessive smoking, drug or alcohol use. In rare cases it can also be caused by radiation or poisonous chemicals.

There is also something called abnormal sperm. That refers to sperm being malformed or short lived. Being short lived makes it impossible for them to swim where they need to get to. This is usually brought on by abnormal development or inflammation of the testicles and swollen veins in the scrotum. What this does is affects sperm production by heating up the inside of the scrotum.

A doctor should be seen immediately if you have any concerns about male infertility. Especially if this has been going on for a year or longer. An exam can probably tell you exactly where the problem is. That way treatment can be started immediately. There are a number of things the doctor will look at. Medical history, he will take a fluid culture from your penis; do blood work, and a semen analysis to check quantity and quality. If this doesn’t result in answers there are more tests that can be done.

Male infertility can be treated and is successful in more than 50 percent of the cases. Hopefully traditional treatment will help the couple get pregnant through normal intercourse. There are different medications for hormonal imbalance and infections. You may want to try something as simple as wearing loose underpants and avoiding hot tubs and hot baths.

In the case where treatment doesn’t help there are other options available. They may be too invasive or expensive but they are there to explore. Invitro fertilization, artificial insemination, or the use of a sperm donor. Invitro is fertilization of a couples sperm and egg in a lab and then placing the egg in the female’s uterus. Artificial insemination is manually placing the sperm inside the fallopian tubes to spur on conception. If there is no sperm production then a donor can be used. While this issue can be horrifying for a couple trying to start a family there is ways to prevent some fertility cases that are caused by illness or genetic problems. The main ones are to stay away from tobacco, alcohol and illegal drugs. Lastly living a healthy lifestyle and practicing good hygiene can go a long way.