If you and your partner have been trying unsuccessfully for two years or longer to conceive a baby, then you have landed in the right place. Today we are discussing the 5 Causes of Low Sperm Count in Men that may be preventing you and your partner from conceiving a baby.
This can be a frustrating and demoralizing experience, especially when you see friends and family able to conceive multiple successful pregnancies, but you can’t even conceive one. Women oftentimes blame themselves for not being able to successfully conceive a baby, when men are just as likely as women to be the culprit in this emotional trauma.
Here are the five Most Common Causes of Low Sperm Count in Men.
These 5 factors combined can lead to low sperm count and other male fertility problems. The good news is, that with often minor lifestyle and diet modifications, you can reverse low sperm count without the need for surgery.
1). Wearing tight underwear.
Tight underwear, such as briefs, hold the scrotum close to the body for a prolonged period of time. This tends to overheat the scrotum, which increases the temperature of the testicles. This can kill and damage sperm, thus leading to low sperm quality or poor sperm morphology.
Lose fitting underwear or clothes, can increase airflow to the genitals, thus keeping your sex organs cool, and preventing the scrotal sack from overheating, which can damage or kill sperm.
The need for loose fitting underwear when trying to conceive is particularly important if you have a job that requires you to sit or drive for long periods of time.
2). Bike riding.
While bike riding is a great form of outdoor exercise, excessive or frequent long-distance bike riding can cause low sperm count.
Since sperm are sensitive to heat, compressing the scrotum against the body while bike riding, may eventually damage or kill sperm. This can result in low sperm count or male fertility problems.
This is due to sitting on a small often hard seat, which compresses the scrotum against the body for long periods of time. When the scrotum is compressed against the body, it is not able to expel the build up of heat, thus raising the temperature of the testes and scrotum.
If you ride your bike to work or school, or use a bike for exercise, try wearing loose fitting pants or shorts to help expel the build-up of heat in the scrotum, which will reduce male infertility issues.
You can also replace your small, hard bike seat with a comfortable bike seatsoft, padded seat that allows you to sit upright, and allows the testicles to hang away from your skin, which can lower the temperature of the scrotum.
3). Frequent or long periods in a hot tub. While relaxing in a hot tub can be enjoyable, your sperm may not be enjoying the heat. The temperature in a hot tub can easily range from 95 – 115 degrees Fahrenheit, which can result in low sperm count in men.
If you are trying to get pregnant, sitting in a hot tub can overheat your testicles. You should prevent sitting in a hot tub, or reduce the time to no more than ten minutes.
Eliminating or reducing time in a hot tub while trying to get pregnant will improve sperm motility by reducing the heat exposure to the sperm.
4). Wearing Tight Fitting Jeans.
You might want to wear jeans that are looser in the seat, giving your scrotum more breathing room to expel the heat.
Heat in the scrotum is one the leading causes of male infertility and sperm motility, which is the ability of the sperm to move.
5). Vericoseles. Normally blood flows in and out of the scrotum to nourish the tissue with oxygen and other nutrients and removes heat.
Vericoseles in men are unwanted blood vessels in the scrotum that allow blood to flow back into the scrotum and trap blood there, where it can overheat the scrotum, testicles and sperm. Sperm desire a slightly lower temperature than normal body temperature of 97 degrees Fahrenheit.
The excessive heat of the blood can overheat the testicles where it damage or destroying the sperm, and cause low sperm count and male fertility problems.
I had this issue myself, and my doctor tied off the veins to stop the flow of blood back into my scrotum, which eventually restored optimal temperature, and normal healthy sperm production eventually resumed after the healing process.
In Closing
If you are having difficulty conceiving with your partner, it is important to see your doctor or urologist to have a semen analysis to to check for sperm count and sperm motility.
If you have low sperm count or sperm motility issues, your doctor will discuss the various factors that cause low sperm count and low motility, and generally simple life style changes you can make that will boost your ability to get pregnant.
The good thing is your body makes millions of sperm, so making simple changes and taking a natural semen booster can increase sperm count on your next test, such as changing from briefs to boxers, buying loose-fitting jeans, or eliminating the hot tub for 30 days, and reducing caffeine.
If you have verisoseles, this will require a surgical procedure to remove or tie off the veins to prevent blood from flowing back into the scrotum, which can overheat and potentially damage or kill your sperm. Recovery from vericosele procedure is not a quick process. If the procedure is successful, you will notice a boost in sperm count and improved motility within 9-12 months of the procedure.
I would suggest trying the simple lifestyle changes first as these are the best natural cures for low sperm count. If these remedies do not increase your sperm count and sperm motility, then see your urologist to determine if your low sperm count is due to vericoseles, low testosterone, thyroid condition or other issue.
If you have low sperm count, you can use a Male fertility aid.
Ken Weiss is a health blogger who is passionate about natural and holistic cures for men’s health issues. He is the founder of menshealthcures.com
