Low Sperm: Do You Have an Underlying Medical Condition?

Having a low sperm count not only affects your sexual health, it can really take its toll on your emotional wellness. However, the best thing to do is to try to determine what’s causing your low sperm count, so that you can protect your wellbeing against any underlying medical factors that may be depleting your sperm. So, what has made your guys stop swimming?

 

1. Varicocele: Pronounced VAR-ih-koe-seel, varicocele causes your veins to swell and this drains your testicles. As a result, your testicles can’t cool as they normally would, leading to reduced sperm count and fewer moving sperm.

 

2. Infection: Infections lower your sperm count in two ways; either they interfere with the production or health of sperm, or they cause scarring which blocks the passage of sperm. Infections to get tested for include sexually transmitted infections (STIs) – such as chlamydia and gonorrhoea – prostatitis (inflammation of the prostate), mumps orchitis (inflamed testicles due to mumps); and other infections of the urinary tract or reproductive organs.

 

3. Ejaculation problems: Some conditions and medications cause your semen to enter your bladder during orgasm instead of emerging out of the tip of the penis (retrograde ejaculation). Causes of this include diabetes, bladder surgery, prostate surgery, urethra surgery, spinal injuries and blood pressure medications (alpha blockers).

 

4. Sperm-attacking antibodies: These immune cells make the mistake of identifying your sperm as harmful invaders, and attempt to destroy them in order to protect your body. These well-meaning but misguided antibodies are more common in men who have had a vasectomy.

 

5. Tumours: There are many ways in which having a tumour can alter your sperm count. Whether it is cancerous or non-malignant, a tumour can directly affect your reproductive organs, or they can tamper with the glands that release hormones related to reproduction (such as the pituitary gland). On top of this, your fertility may be affected by the surgery, radiation or chemotherapy used to treat your tumours.

 

6. Undescended testicles: When you’re a foetus, your testicles descend from the abdomen into the sac that normally contains the testicles (scrotum). However, sometimes this doesn’t happen during foetal development – either to one or both testicles – and this can lower your sperm count and cause decreased fertility.

 

7. Hormone imbalance: In order to create sperm, your hypothalamus, pituitary and testicles need to produce hormones. However, when these hormones are altered – for whatever reason – your sperm production may become impaired.

 

8. Sperm duct defects: Your sperm ducts are the tubes that carry sperm, but illness or injury can damage these ducts. You may have been born with a blockage in the part of the testicle that stores sperm (epididymis) or a blockage of one of the tubes that carry sperm out of the testicles (vas deferens). In fact, if you have an inherited condition like cystic fibrosis, you may be born without sperm ducts altogether.

 

9. Chromosome defects: Your reproductive organs can develop abnormally if you have an innherited disorder such as Klinefelter’s syndrome. This means you’re born with two X chromosomes and one Y chromosome instead of one X and one Y. Other genetic syndromes associated with infertility include cystic fibrosis, Kallmann’s syndrome, Young’s syndrome, and Kartagener syndrome.

 

10. Celiac disease: Although this gluten-sensitivity digestive disorder can cause male infertility, you may be able to up your sperm count if you adopt a gluten-free diet.

 

11. Certain medications: There are a lot of medications that can impair sperm production and decrease your fertility. These include – but are not limited to – testosterone replacement therapy, long-term anabolic steroid use, cancer medications (such as chemotherapy), certain antifungal medications, and some ulcer medications.

Categories: carry sperm, Causes, cystic fibrosis, low sperm count, nbsp, reproductive organs, sperm, sperm count, sperm ducts, sperm production, Underlying Conditions, underlying medical

Cystic Fibrosis Month

May is Cystic Fibrosis month. Learn more about Cystic Fibrosis and what we can all do to raise awareness and support the journey towards a cure…

The Cystic Fibrosis Foundation has designated May as CF awareness month. This life-shortening inherited disease affects almost 10,000 people in the UK and 30,000 in the United States.

What is Cystic Fibrosis?

Cystic Fibrosis comes from a faulty gene that controls the way salt and water moves in and out of cells in the body. This means the lungs and digestive system gets clogged with mucus. Breathing and digesting food becomes increasingly difficult as the disease progresses.

At the moment there is no cure for Cystic Fibrosis but the condition can be managed with medication, exercise, physiotherapy and nutrition. Today data from the Cystic Fibrosis Trust estimates that, “More than half of the CF population in the UK will live past 41, and improved care and treatments mean that a baby born today is expected to live even longer.”

Because Cystic Fibrosis is a genetic disease it can’t be caught or developed. However, one in 25 people carry the faulty CF gene which could be a consideration if you are thinking of starting a family.

Being screened or tested for Cystic Fibrosis

There are a number of different types of testing and screening that can be done to identify Cystic Fibrosis depending on your age and situation. If there is a history of the condition in you or your partner’s family then you can be tested easily by taking a sample of the cells from the inside of your mouth. The cells are then tested in a lab. Couples often decide to be tested before starting a family. This can be organised through your GP or if you have health insurance through a private provider.

Bupa’s Health Information Directory gives a comprehensive list of facts and advice on Cystic Fibrosis and pregnancy including the antenatal test Amniocentesis and Chorionic villus sampling. All new-born babies are screened for Cystic Fibrosis in the UK. A midwife will visit you and your baby about five days after the birth and collect a few drops of blood to be tested. Since some tests can provide inconclusive results there are three in total that can be used to determine if a baby has Cystic Fibrosis. The other two are sweat testing and genetic testing. This first test reads the level of salt in a baby’s sweat as people with CF have very high levels in their sweat. The second relies on a sample of saliva taken from inside the baby’s mouth. This test can confirm if a child has CF or is a carrier of the gene.

How can I help?

Cystic Fibrosis charities are always looking for willing volunteers to help them raise awareness and funds to support research into a cure and also help provide support and respite for people living with the condition. You can donate your money or your time by joining an event or organising your own. Companies often donate money to charities or organise team building events around raising money for good causes. It could be as simple as organising a bake sale at your office or as grand as suggesting your local or national Cystic Fibrosis charity be adopted as their national charity as Manchester United did for three years.

Has your company or workplace ever raised money for a Cystic Fibrosis organisation?

Categories: Baby, cystic, cystic fibrosis, Cystic Fibrosis Month, fibrosis, fibrosis month, help organisations, people, raise awareness, Screened, tested