by V. Kumar

Created on: July 01, 2008

MALE INFERTILITY refers to inability of the couple to conceive in spite of unprotected intercourse over a period of one year due to a cause in the male partner.

Approximately 15% couples present with infertility as per the above definition. About one third of these result from a cause in the male partner, while another one third are likely to have problems in both the partners. Thus, male infertility contributes to overall incidence of infertility almost as much as the causes in the female partner, a factor which is not always remembered.

INVESTIGATION for male infertility is important to identify the cause. Thus once the couple seek medical advice, a complete history and the medical examination of both partners needs to be done. In case of male, one needs to look for factors that could be highly innocuous, like tight underwear, excessive smoking, and high temperature in the place of work that may provide an opportunity for correcting the problem. Sometimes a history of recurrent illnesses during the last year may be the clue, as spermatogenesis or the production of sperms, after an episode of illness could remain affected up to 74 days after the remission of illness, thereby indicating the need for rest and recovery as a solution for infertility.

Medical examination can provide the diagnosis in many cases like varicocele or dilation of veins in the scrotum (the sack holding the testis), and indicate surgery as an effective treatment. Several other conditions are also likely to get diagnosed during medical examination, and can be treated depending on the cause.

In many cases, history and medical examination do not indicate a diagnosis, and then semen analysis is required, which may show a reduction in the number or mobility of sperms as the reason for infertility. Sometimes diagnosis may require hormonal or genetic analysis.

CAUSES OF MALE INFERTILITY & TREATMENT

Treatment of male infertility depends on the cause.

Causes of infertility can be related to erectile dysfunction itself, and in such cases appropriate psychological counselling or occasional medicinal intervention may suffice.

The next group of causes relate to defects in ejaculation. Retrograde ejaculation can be a culprit, and may require treatment with IMIPRAMINE and / or PSEUDOEPHEDRINE, which improve ejaculation. Sometimes this retrograde ejaculation may be a result of diabetes that may require control of diabetes.

Sometimes, the cause of male infertility is systemic in nature, like excessive exercise,

• 1
• 2
• 3
• Next Page >>