Do’s and Don’ts for Male Infertility Patients

According to a survey conducted by the World Health Organization, 15 per cent of couples of childbearing age suffer from infertility, while in some areas of the developing world it is as high as 30 per cent, with both men and women accounting for half of the causes. A research report from the Institute of Science and Technology of the Population and Family Planning Commission of China shows that the quality of semen for men in China is declining at a rate of 1 per cent per year. It can be seen that with the development of society and environmental changes, more and more families are (or will be) facing male infertility problems. Most of these male patients will seek treatment to improve their fertility, however, it is especially important for both husband and wife to correctly grasp the knowledge related to infertility and cooperate with the doctor’s treatment before and during the treatment process. For this reason, based on my clinical experience, the author summarizes the following precautions for male infertility patients for the reference of couples of childbearing age. 1, a correct understanding of the concept of male infertility: couples of childbearing age after marriage and cohabitation with a normal sex life for more than 1 year, did not take any contraceptive measures, due to male infertility caused by the woman, known as male infertility. The so-called normal sex life means the completion of vaginal intercourse and ejaculation action, and the number of sex life is regular. If couples live apart after marriage and occasionally visit relatives, it can not be considered a normal sex life. 2, correct mindset, eliminate tension and anxiety: husband and wife, family members can not blame each other. Because emotional instability may also cause spermatogenic and sexual dysfunction. According to statistics, male infertility caused by emotional abnormalities accounts for about 5% of all infertility patients. 3, try to avoid adverse factors that may cause infertility: exposure to radiation or electromagnetic fields, toxic chemicals (indoor decoration pollution, etc.), smoking and alcoholism, medication, high temperature operations (welders, chefs, etc.), long-term sedentary, wearing tight underwear, sauna bath, etc., are likely to lead to male infertility of adverse factors. 4, work and rest time and diet should be regular: do not stay up late, do a combination of work and rest, strengthen physical exercise; should not overeat or excessive dieting, pay attention to nutritional balance, increase the intake of protein, zinc and vitamins of micronutrients. 5, the frequency of sexual life should be appropriate, improve the quality of sexual life: usually do not indulge in sexual desire, do not intentionally restrain sexual life, or due to the eagerness of the child and the sexual life is too much on the female ovulation day before the day. 6, infertile couples should go to the hospital at the same time to consult the consultation: in the male infertility, 50% may be at the same time there are female factors. Even in the examination found a clear male own infertility factors, in the treatment should still pay attention to check the fertility of the female partner. Because the real cause of infertility may be in both spouses in a number of links. 7, careful evaluation of semen analysis: semen analysis is an important basis for evaluating male fertility, in which the sperm count and vitality are most closely related to fertility. However, semen analysis only indicates the possibility of fertility. Normal indicators do not necessarily mean that a man can have children, and abnormal indicators do not necessarily mean that he cannot have children. Therefore, the results of semen analysis should be carefully evaluated, neither give up other tests because the results are normal, nor lose confidence because the results are not good. 8, the time of abstinence before the examination: before semen collection, usually should be abstained from sex for 2 to 7 days. Collection of semen to masturbation to extract semen is preferred, shall not use condoms, lubricants, etc., should be complete after the collection in the insulation (20 ~ 40 ℃) under the conditions as soon as possible (within 1 hour) sent to the laboratory for analysis. 9, drug treatment should adhere to the course of treatment: to improve semen quality of drug treatment is often 3 months for a course of treatment, midway should not be interrupted or frequent replacement of drugs. Because the testes need a process to make sperms, generally from spermatogonia evolve into sperms about 76 days, sperms from the testes after discharge and in the epididymis after about 18 days of maturation process, to be discharged from the body. So even if the drug is effective, theoretically it will take 3 months before the effect is visible. Finally, patients need to be reminded that not all causes of infertility can be detected in all patients. Male infertility is the result of many diseases and factors, there are a considerable proportion of patients who can not find the cause of the current means of medical examination, this part of the patient clinically known as idiopathic male infertility. However, these patients do not need to be overly discouraged and can discuss with their doctors to find other ways to conceive a baby.