by John W. Paulus

Created on: February 28, 2008

When we think about infertility issues, we often think about female infertility. However, the fact of the matter is that right around half of all infertility issues that couples have are due to a factor in the male.

To understand the treatments for male infertility, it can help to first understand some of the causes of male infertility. Here are some of the most common causes:

* Low sperm count. When a man's semen does not contain a sufficient amount of sperm by volume, he is said to have a low sperm count. A low sperm count can be caused by medications, drug or alcohol use, excessive caffeine intake, smoking, testicular injury, and even overheating of the testicles.

* Low sperm motility. Motility refers to the rate at which sperm move forward. If the sperm are moving forward, conception is more likely to occur. Low sperm motility is when a man's sperm don't move forward, or don't move forward at a sufficient pace. The same sorts of things that can cause low sperm count can cause low sperm motility.

* Abnormal sperm. Sperm have a specific shape. If a large number of the sperm are misshapen, a man is said to have "abnormal" sperm. Abnormal sperm can be caused by exposure to chemicals or heavy metals, as well as some of the other causes above.

* A Varicocele. When the vein that supplies the testicle is enlarged, it is known as varicocele. A varicocele can cause the testicles to be warmer than usually, affecting sperm count and motility. A varicocele can generally be corrected through urological surgery.

This is where it becomes difficult to treat male infertility. many treatments for male infertility are very specialized, and relate only to male infertility that is caused by a specific factor. If the male infertility is caused by a low sperm count or low sperm motility due to testicular overheating, for example, the treatment very often is just to switch to underwear that are not as tight, or avoiding hot baths, saunas, and hot tubs. A varicocele can, as noted above, be corrected via surgery. In many cases, there just aren't any treatments for male infertility.

There are some nutritional supplements that are available as treatments for male infertility as well. These supplements may contain things like Ginseng, Zinc, Vitamin C, and lycopene. Of course, nutritional supplements haven't been tested by the FDA, and haven't been certified to function in the way that they claim. This doesn't necessarily mean that they won't work as treatments for male infertility. In fact, there are many men who have treated their male infertility with these sorts of nutritional supplements. This just means that these products don't have the same sorts of governmental oversight that traditional medications might have.

If you are experiencing difficulty trying to conceive you should speak with your health care provider about identifying the possible causes, and developing a treatment plan.

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