Infertility is one of the taboos of society that can be challenging and frustrating for couples who are giving their all just to conceive. Couples feel helpless and isolated when they learn that they have a low to nil chance of conceiving. While this is not necessarily a disease, this disorder can cause the same amount of stress and hopelessness.
Male infertility is a disorder that can make men feel heavily burdened. However, knowing more about male infertility will strangle the misconceptions associated with the inability to conceive. By arming ourselves with what we should know about male infertility, we can assess the different options to make the right decision.
Defining Infertility
Infertility is the inability of a couple to conceive after trying for one year. Infertility for women is the inability to deliver a baby to full term.
Defining Male Infertility
Male infertility, also termed as male factor infertility, is simply the man’s attribution or cause to a couple that has no ability to conceive. Male infertility is generally connected with hormonal disorders, obstruction in the reproductive system, sexual dysfunction, or recurring illness.
Male infertility is actually the state of inability rather than a specific disease, although the definition is interchanged. Thus, diagnosing the disorder requires a holistic approach that should cover everything regarding a man’s health. Half of infertile men have irreversibly infertility conditions, which restrict their ability to father children.
Causes of Male Infertility
The causes of male infertility can be categorized into two, which are congenital condition and acquired condition. Congenital male infertility means that the involved causes are present since birth while acquired male infertility is developed later in life, mostly due to illness that affect the male’s reproductive system.
Male infertility can also stem out from treatment of other diseases such as radiation treatment for cancers and medication for high blood pressure. Diseases such as diabetes, cystic fibrosis, and sexually transmitted diseases increase the risk of male infertility. Systemic diseases, which are diseases that render most of the body ineffective, also contribute to male infertility. Examples of these systemic diseases are high fever, infection, and kidney abnormalities.
Testosterone Deficiency
Testosterone deficiency is a male condition that represents the declining production of testosterone. Testosterone is a male hormone that is responsible for the growth of the male reproductive system. Thus, the lack of testosterone can often result to male infertility due to the lack of sperm development and undergrowth of the male reproductive system.
Diagnosing Male infertility
Fertility specialists have developed a number of diagnostic methods to find the causes of male infertility. Looking for the causes of infertility in a couple starts with the male as it is easier to look for inconsistencies in the male’s reproductive system than in a female’s reproductive system.
An investigation of family history is the first diagnostic method in detecting the causes of one’s infertility. The doctor will try to establish if the causes are congenital or acquired as they learn more about a patient’s family history. Then, a semen analysis follows where the male’s fluids is examined as the doctor looks for the concentration of sperm cells, sperm shape, the mobility of sperm, total number of moving sperm and the total volume of the semen. Fertility doctors factor in all observations to develop a result for semen analysis.
Advanced tests measure the behavior of sperm cells in specific conditions. The sperm-mucus interaction test measures the ability of the sperm cell to swim through the cervical mucus. This gives doctors an idea if the sperm sample can swim through the female tract. The sperm penetration assay tests the sperms ability to break through the female egg by testing its strength against a hamster egg. Finally, the immunobead test looks for antibodies in the semen that can damage sperm cells.
Treating Male Infertility
Once the cause of male infertility is established, the doctor can now recommend a set of treatments to make conception between the couple possible. Each treatment addresses a certain cause. Unlike other conditions, male infertility can be solved with specific types of treatment.
Electro ejaculation is a treatment for men who lack the stimulus to produce an ejaculation. In this treatment, an electrical current stimulated the nerve so that erection and ejaculation can take place. Men with nerve damage can opt for this treatment.
If an obstruction between the testes and the urethra is present in such a way that a viable sperm count cannot be ejaculated, doctors pursue sperm retrieval. This surgical procedure involves incision of the scrotum and uses the outlet to gather the sperm cells from the testes. A needle injection is also used to extract the sperm cells. These sperm cells can be candidates for artificial insemination. Meanwhile, sperm washing is done to collect the healthiest class of sperm cells from a semen sample or after a sperm retrieval procedure. This process separates the sperm cells from the fatty acids and mucus to increase sperm motility.
Sperm injection is a process used where an immobile sperm is directly injected to a mature egg. The egg is then incubated and transferred to the uterus. The matured egg can also be placed in the female’s fallopian tube so that the egg can be implanted naturally.
To improve sperm production and treat hormonal abnormalities, doctors will suggest drug therapy. These medications when taken in can cure infections in the sperm cells, defeat antibodies that attack sperm cells, reduce estrogen, and may be used to stimulate the release of male hormones.
Home Sperm count Tests
To conveniently screen male fertility, TestCountry offers the home based Fertility Sperm count Test. This sperm count test determines the concentration of sperm cells which will help your doctor assess your fertility conditions.
Sperm count is one of the simplest factors to predict a person’s ability to conceive. Simply put, the ability of a couple to conceive is dependent on the probability of a sperm to attach to an egg. Thus, the more sperm cells that surround the egg cell, the better chance there is to conceive. There is a critical level of sperm concentration to represent male fertility conditions. If a sperm concentration level is greater than 20 million per milliliter, then the sperm count is at a healthy level. However, this does not mean that the male is fertile since there are other reasons of male infertility.
Female and male infertility is fairly common nowadays. If you feel that there is a problem with you and your partner in having a child, you need to understand the causes of female and male infertility.
The Causes of Female and Male Infertility
Infertility in the male is caused by a few different factors. It is essential to have healthy sperm production for conception to happen. This sperm needs to be strong enough to reach the egg. It will need good motility. If the sperm count is below optimum or the sperms are of poor quality, pregnancy will rarely occur. The problem could also be that the sperm is not formed properly or they die prematurely before they can reach the egg.
Women need to have both healthy eggs and blockage free fallopian tubes to allow for conception. Female infertility is often caused by ovulation disorder. Correct cycles of ovulation are necessary for the healthy eggs to descend into place for the sperm to reach it. Polycystic ovary syndrome is one of the more common problems in female infertility. Female and male infertility problems can also be due to birth defects or genetics that causes damage to the reproductive systems.
Female and male infertility is treated in different ways and by different types of medical doctors. A gynecologist often is the first consultation for female infertility and men need to see an urologist. Once the cause of the female and male infertility is determined, the proper treatment can then begin.
Some Facts about Male Infertility
Many people would think of infertility as a woman problem. The fact is that up to half of all infertility cases are exacerbated or caused by male infertility. Hence, it is important for any infertility test to include an investigation of both male infertility as well as the female problems.
Causal Factors of Male Infertility
The infertility may be caused by zero sperm production. Such a condition is known as azoospermia. Another condition called oligiospermia is where there are very few sperm present in the semen. This will greatly reduce the chances of conception. It can also be a problem of sperm motility. The sperm are present, but cannot move effectively enough to effect fertilization. Finally, there can be problems with the form and structure of the sperm that can also inhibit fertilization.
Male Infertility Testing
It is important for couple to understand that infertility affects both men and women. The problem may not lie with the woman. It is important for the male to take a male infertility test to determine the source of the problem.
A male infertility test is conducted with a sperm sample provided by the man through masturbation. The same way that sperm donation is collected. This is normally done in the privacy of his own home and delivered within a specified time. Or it is collected in the fertility clinic. After the sperm sample is collected, the doctor will conduct male infertility test to determine the quantity and quality of the sperm.
Treatment Options for Male Infertility
The male infertility test can show whether the man has a low sperm count or if his sperm are irregular. For diagnosis, a test will be conducted to get the exact sperm count. The solutions available for this condition are not wearing tight clothing, reducing weight, stop the smoking and generally avoiding extreme temperature in the lower body region. Sometimes fertility drugs can be used to help improve the sperm count so that he can successfully impregnate his mate.
Male infertility may be a result of problems with the sperm and seminal fluid, or with the reproductive organs. Varicoele is one common cause of male infertility. Enlarged varicose veins that are present in the spermatic travel route cause this condition. The first sign of varicoele is the appearance of large dilated veins on the scrotum. The second sign is a large painless bulge or swollen area on the scrotum. In some cases, there are no symptoms at all. The treatment for this problem is simply to remove the blockages and allow normal blood flow. Surgery is used to tie off the affected veins. The male fertility solutions for these problems are generally effective.
Sometimes the treatment for male infertility can simply be a few behavioral changes such as adequate rest. Your doctor may recommend less frequent intercourse for the problem of low sperm count. This is help build up a better concentration of sperm. If hormones are the culprits, medication can be used to remedy the problem. Another effective treatment for male infertility is artificial insemination, where fertilization takes place outside the womb. This can be a very effective treatment for certain condition such as low sperm counts since a single sperm is placed inside an egg.
The good news is that there are many options for male infertility treatments. The cost is getting cheaper too. If you have been trying to conceive for a year or more, consult your doctor today about possible female or male infertility diagnosis and treatment.