Male Infertility Causes, the Main Cause of Infertility in Men
The most common, specific, and reversible male infertility causes are dilated veins in the scrotum, a condition known as varicoceles. However, poor overall health may well also be a major cause of infertility.
The Main Cause of Infertility in Men are Dilated Varicoceles
The most common reason for infertility in men are enlarged varicoceles. These are veins in the scrotum which become dilated due to the blood not draining properly from them.
These dilated veins allow excessive blood to be present around the scrotum which causes their temperature to be chronically raised. This has an inhibiting effect on the production of sperm. However, the condition of varicoceles can usually be reversed by minor microscopic surgery.
Other Male Infertility Causes
In general, the main cause of infertility is likely down to your overall health. If you live a healthy lifestyle, there is a high probability that your sperm will also be healthy and you will remain fertile.
There are quite a number of other possible causes, the main ones being smoking and nicotine, drinking alcohol and using illegal drugs such as marijuana, cocaine and ecstacy. According to research, smoking nicotine drastically decreases the sperm count and overall health of sperm cells.
Both a man and the woman need to healthy in order to produce a child. When a couple cannot conceive a child in a span of one year, there may be treatable male infertility causes.
Statistics based on research indicate that fertility problems affect 10% (or about 6.1 million) Americans at reproductive age. Contrary to myth, this is not always the woman’s problem. A third of the cases (about 35%) are actually due to deficiencies in male fertility.
The root cause of infertility in men may result from many factors such as low sperm count, ejaculation problems, or abnormal, malformed sperm with a short life span can all inhibit male fertility.
Poor diet and malnutrition can also contribute to male infertility causes, including vitamin C deficiency and zinc deficiency in your diet. Some diseases (e.g., tuberculosis, fevers, anemia, and mumps in adulthood) and infections can lead to male fertility problems.
Infections of the reproductive system such as epididymitis, orchitis, and prostatis may also be a cause of infertility. Some sexually transmitted disease such as chlamydia or gonorrhea damage the sperm ducts which may exacerbate existing fertility problems. You also risk transmitting your disease to your partner causing her to be infertile.
Some medications are also believed to be male infertility causes. This include cancer-treating agents (e.g., chemotheraphy), anti-fungal medication (ketoconazole), antidiarrheal drug (sulfasalazine), Azulfidine (a drug used to treat ulcerative colitis), and some groups of antibiotics (nitrofurans and macrolides). Likewise, the use of anabolic steroids is also known to cause testicular shrinkage and cause male fertility problems.
Further reasons include testosterone deficiency, trauma or injury to the testes, and structural abnormality or blockage in the vas deferens.
Some male infertility causes are also connected with lifestyle, like excessive stress, intensive exercise (may lower your sperm count by producing higher levels of adrenal steroid hormones, which lower the amount of testosterone in the body), tight underwear or jeans, hot tubs, saunas, or anything that raises the temperature of your scrotum, including overheated vehicles and hot work environments, and exposure to environmental hazards such as pesticides, lead, paint, mercury, benzene, boron, radiation (x-ray), radioactive substances, and heavy metals.
