Modern lifestyles, mycoplasma infection, and environmental factors pose potential threats to male fertility.

134. Seven Fashions That Can Cause Male Infertility There are many causes of male infertility, and recent research data shows that certain lifestyles are to blame. (1) Frequent use of mobile phones: Mobile phone calls transmit signals through high-frequency electromagnetic waves, and there is a certain amount of microwave radiation around the transmitting antenna. When the microwaves generated by mobile phones exceed the national standards, they may harm health. About 40% of the microwaves are absorbed into the deep layers of the body, causing organs to heat up, but the body itself does not feel it. In addition to damaging the nerves, blood, immune system and eyes, the reproductive system is often also "doomed", such as causing a sharp decrease in sperm count and sperm motility. Therefore, men of reproductive age should pay attention to self-protection when using mobile phones. When there is a regular telephone nearby, try not to use mobile phones to reduce the number and duration of microwave radiation to the human body; if you must use a mobile phone, keep the call short. The last trick is to arrange a reasonable diet and eat more foods rich in high-quality protein, phospholipids and B vitamins to enhance the ability to resist radiation and protect the function of reproductive organs. (2) Oxygen Bar Visit: In recent years, oxygen inhalation has become a popular health care method in some cities in my country, and many people consider visiting oxygen bars fashionable. In this regard, experts warn that this may be good news for some people with poor health (such as patients with chronic bronchitis and emphysema), but healthy people, especially men of reproductive age, should not follow this trend, because it may cause problems for their reproductive function. The secret is that healthy people who inhale more oxygen than they need in an oxygen bar will combine with other substances in their bodies to generate free radicals, which will damage normal biological membranes, interfere with enzyme activity, and affect the metabolism of testes and sperm cells. (3) Candlelight Dinner: Using candles instead of electric lights and dining under candlelight may be influenced by Westerners. While this creates a romantic atmosphere, it may bring some harm to the body. It turns out that candles, especially scented candles, release harmful particles such as lead and mercury. If men of reproductive age inhale these particles, they can invade the reproductive system and cause problems. For example, lead can directly affect the testes, hindering the synthesis of androgens and the production of sperm. It is characterized by impairing sexual function, reducing libido, or causing weak penile erection, which in turn induces infertility. (4) Sauna: Sauna baths can relieve fatigue and have the effect of curing diseases and improving health, and many people enjoy this. However, experts warn that sauna baths have become the culprit for infertility in some young people. The reason is simple: sperm are produced in the testes and have strict requirements for temperature. They can only develop normally under constant temperature conditions of 34℃~35℃. The temperature in the sauna room is much higher than this standard, which is extremely unfavorable for sperm production or causes sperm death. Therefore, young people who have not yet had children should only go to the sauna occasionally. Frequent visits may result in more harm than good. (5) Disposable diapers: In recent years, disposable diapers have been selling well. They may have a negative impact on the development of the testes in male children during the critical stage of development, and there is a risk of sowing the seeds of infertility from an early age. German scholars pointed out that this is because the plastic-lined diapers cause heat to accumulate around the testes. When using disposable diapers, the scrotal temperature rises significantly, sometimes exceeding body temperature by 1°C, with younger infants experiencing higher scrotal temperatures. (6) Wearing tight pants: Many young men follow the fashion of tight pants and wear jeans year-round. However, jeans tightly bind the scrotum and testicles, reducing local heat dissipation and causing testicular temperature to rise, which hinders sperm production. At the same time, tight pants restrict blood circulation in the scrotum, especially hindering venous return, causing testicular congestion and creating resistance to sperm production. (7) Improper makeup: It is understandable for men to pursue beauty, but they should pay attention to the choice of cosmetics. Some men use readily available materials and like to share certain cosmetics with their wives for a long time. However, some brands specifically for women contain a certain amount of estrogen. Estrogen can slowly change endocrine function in the body, weakening male sexual function and naturally casting a shadow on fertility.

"Life Killers" of Male Infertility (1) Prolonged Cycling: The handlebars of a racing bike are lower than the seat, causing the center of gravity to lean forward and increasing the curvature of the waist. The testicles and prostate in the perineum are pressed tightly against the seat, which can cause ischemia, edema, and inflammation after prolonged compression, affecting sperm production and the normal secretion of prostatic fluid and semen, thus leading to infertility. Therefore, men should not ride racing bikes for long periods of time, and should not exceed 1 hour per day. A sponge seat cover should be used to protect the perineum. (2) Excessively High Bathing Temperature: Under normal circumstances, sperm must be in a constant temperature environment of 34℃-35℃ to develop normally. Excessively high bathing water temperature often harbors hidden dangers. Excessively high water temperature is very unfavorable to sperm growth, or may cause too much "dead sperm" and lead to infertility. Medical experts have learned from the causes of male infertility that some men have sperm that cannot survive because their testicular temperature is 2℃-3℃ higher than normal. Therefore, young men should be careful when taking hot baths. Normally, the bathing water temperature should also be around 34℃. (3) Zinc- and selenium-deficient diet: The trace element zinc can promote sperm motility, prevent premature sperm disintegration, and facilitate fertilization. It is evident that zinc has a significant impact on fertility. Selenium is also an essential trace element for the human body, almost entirely derived from food. Japanese medical researchers observed 1,000 cases of male infertility and found that 37 men had insufficient selenium content in their semen. Therefore, men should not have a biased diet and should pay attention to eating more foods containing zinc and selenium, such as fish, oysters, liver, soybeans, and brown rice. (4) Inhalation of kitchen fumes: Research by the Medical College of Shanghai Railway University found that there are 74 chemical substances in kitchen fumes that can cause cell mutations, leading to infertility, becoming "new evidence" of "family killers". They found that fruit flies fed with condensed oil from the oil cup of a kitchen exhaust fan had a chromosomal mutation rate of 0.54%, and 2.8% of the fruit flies were infertile, indicating that their reproductive system was significantly damaged. (5) Excessive noise: Studies have shown that men living in environments with noise levels of 70-80 decibels for a long time tend to have weakened sexual function; living in high-noise environments above 90 decibels can cause sexual dysfunction, and even higher noise levels can lead to semen liquefaction problems and infertility. (6) Picky eating: Picky eating can cause nutritional deficiencies or imbalances, which not only affect physical health but also result in a lack of calcium, phosphorus, zinc, vitamin A, and other substances in the diet, which can affect the quality and quantity of sperm and may lead to infertility. (7) Poor mental health: If men live with various mental burdens, it can also inhibit endocrine function, affect biogenic amines in the body, and hinder nerve transmission and the release of sex hormones, thereby inhibiting the normal production of testosterone and resulting in infertility.

Mycoplasma, a new killer of male infertility, is a type of prokaryotic microorganism, with a size between bacteria and viruses. There are three types of mycoplasma pathogens that are pathogenic to humans, among which Ureaplasma urealyticum is a common pathogen of the human urogenital tract, associated with many urogenital infections, perinatal infections, and infertility, and is one of the pathogens of sexually transmitted diseases. Mycoplasma is widely distributed in nature; besides humans, many animals such as cats, chickens, dogs, ducks, sheep, horses, monkeys, pigeons, as well as insects and plants, can carry and store this pathogen. In my country, scholars cultured Ureaplasma urealyticum in 2181 infertile couples, finding 1203 cases of infection, accounting for 55.16%. Of these, 511 were male (42.48%) and 692 were female (57.5%), demonstrating the prevalence of this pathogen among infertile couples in my country. After infection via the urethra, mycoplasma can cause urethritis symptoms and may lead to secondary chronic prostatitis. When examining prostatic fluid, active, swimming microbial communities can be observed. Mycoplasma also continues to infect the seminal duct, seminal vesicle, and testis, affecting the quality of sperm and semen and causing infertility. Observations have shown that mycoplasma can cause infertility through multiple mechanisms. (1) Interference with sperm motility: Sperm motility is an important function of healthy sperm and an important indicator of whether sperm can conceive. Moreover, sperm motility must have a certain speed and frequency. After mycoplasma infects sperm, it often attaches to the head and tail of the sperm, causing the entire sperm to be covered with attachments of varying sizes, resulting in weak sperm motility, entanglement, and infertility. (2) Increased sperm deformity rate: Mycoplasma infection leading to an increased sperm deformity rate is another characteristic of infertility. According to clinical observations, the sperm deformity rate in these infertile patients can sometimes be as high as 85%. (3) Damage to spermatogenic cells: There are a large number of spermatogenic cells in the seminiferous tubules of the testis. These spermatogenic cells develop and multiply to form sperm. When mycoplasma enters the seminiferous tubules of the testes from the urethra, prostate, or other sites, it can damage spermatogenic cells, causing the "sperm-producing factory" to produce substandard products and leading to infertility.