Varicocele can cause local discomfort in the form of swelling and pulling pain in the scrotum, which can be significant when standing and moving and can be relieved by lying in bed. It can also cause nervous weakness due to the patient’s worry and anxiety, causing mood disorders, fatigue, insomnia, etc. More importantly, according to medical statistics, about two-thirds of men with varicocele have semen abnormalities, a significant portion of which can lead to infertility. What are the causes of varicocele? 1, anatomical factors: the left internal spermatic vein is long and enters the renal vein at a right angle, and the blood flow is subject to certain resistance. The left internal spermatic vein near the left renal vein has no valve, so the blood is easy to backflow; the left internal spermatic vein is located after the sigmoid colon, which is easy to be compressed by the intestinal feces and affects the blood reflux. 2, physiological factors: the sexual function of young and strong people is more vigorous, and the blood supply of scrotal contents is strong. So some varicocele can disappear gradually with age. In addition, standing for a long time and increasing abdominal pressure is also one of the reasons for the increased incidence of varicocele. 3, other factors: retroperitoneal tumor, kidney tumor, hydronephrosis, etc. compressing the veins inside the spermatic cord can cause symptomatic or secondary varicose veins. The primary ones disappear quickly when lying down, while the secondary ones often do not disappear or disappear very slowly. In addition, varicocele can also be caused by kidney tumors or other retroperitoneal tumors. Varicocele due to compression is called symptomatic or secondary varicocele. Many male friends worry that if they have varicocele, does it have any effect on fertility or not? 1, affect the testicular sperm production ability: affect the male sperm production due to the venous blood stagnation, resulting in the testicular temperature rise. As we know, human sperm need a temperature lower than 37℃ for occurrence and growth, which is exactly why human testicles grow outside the body cavity. Varicocele can make the testicular temperature rise and interfere with the ability to produce sperm. 2, low sperm vitality leads to infertility: stagnant venous blood affects testicular metabolism, causing local hypoxia, metabolic waste accumulation, poisoning spermatogenic cells and sperm of the testes, as well as inhibiting the production of androgenic hormone ── testosterone. The combined consequence of these two factors is a decrease in sperm count, low motility and an increase in abnormal sperm, which can therefore lead to infertility. Therefore, if you feel discomfort in the perineum or scrotum, or if you have tried for a long time without getting the woman pregnant, you should go to a regular hospital for an ultrasound examination to clarify whether you have varicocele, and if so, you should consult your doctor for further treatment.