Treatment for male infertility, lifestyle precautions, and the effects of excessively frequent or infrequent sexual activity on conception.
Why is a 3-month treatment course used for male infertility?
Sperm production takes place in the seminiferous tubules of the testes. After production, sperm undergo further development and maturation in the epididymis before being expelled from the body along with seminal fluid. Sperm development can be divided into six stages, each requiring a certain amount of time. These six stages constitute a cycle, and human sperm development takes approximately four and a half cycles. Since each cycle takes about 16 days, the entire sperm development process takes about 70 days. Furthermore, the further development and maturation of sperm in the epididymis takes 19–23 days. Therefore, from sperm production to ejaculation, the entire process takes about 90 days. This is why treatment for male infertility typically involves a 3-month course of therapy.
What should infertile couples pay attention to in their daily lives?
For patients struggling with infertility, in addition to identifying the underlying cause and receiving targeted treatment, lifestyle adjustments are also crucial for enhancing the chances of successful conception and achieving better results. So, what lifestyle adjustments should be made?
(1) Be calm and composed, and do not be overly anxious or worried.
(2) Avoid adverse environmental factors. For jobs that may affect fertility, precautions should be taken, such as avoiding exposure to radiation (especially with the widespread use of computers, whose radiation is easily overlooked) and harmful substances like certain chemicals and heavy metals. High-temperature work should be avoided, and the time spent in contact with computers should be minimized. Infertile patients should avoid smoking and drinking alcohol. Heavy smokers increase the content of thiocyanate in their semen, thus inhibiting sperm motility. The number of abnormal sperm in the semen of smokers is also significantly higher than in non-smokers. Long-term excessive alcohol consumption is also harmful to the testes, easily leading to the testes' inability to produce male hormones and sperm normally.
(3) Increase nutrition and strengthen exercise. Eating some animal offal such as liver and brain is beneficial for the synthesis of sex hormones, and vitamins are also essential nutrients. Therefore, regularly taking some multivitamins such as vitamins A, B, C, and E is beneficial for increasing the chances of conception. In particular, men with infertility should eat more apples.
Too frequent or too infrequent sexual activity can both affect fertility.
Generally, women of reproductive age release only one egg per menstrual cycle, so the optimal time for conception each month is only 1-3 days before ovulation and 1-2 days after ovulation. Clearly, accurately identifying the woman's fertile window is key to a couple's ability to conceive. However, many infertile couples have two drastically different mindsets regarding this issue. The first is the belief that since ovulation only occurs once a month, and conception is impossible at other times, then they should have intercourse only during the ovulation period and avoid it at other times. This is believed to "conserve sperm," preserving sperm quality and increasing fertility. The second is the fear that the estimated ovulation time is inaccurate and they might miss the opportunity to conceive, so they engage in extremely frequent intercourse, almost daily, hoping to conceive. In fact, both approaches are incorrect. From a scientific perspective, neither too infrequent nor too frequent intercourse is conducive to conception. If the sperm count is too low, it will have been stored for too long and will have aged significantly, resulting in poor motility. If the sperm count is too high, the male's testicles will not be able to produce enough semen and high-quality sperm, leading to diluted semen, low sperm count, and low motility, which is also detrimental to conception. Therefore, we believe that intentional abstinence is unnecessary, and having sex every day will not increase the chances of sperm and egg meeting. The key is for both partners to consult a specialist at a reputable hospital to determine the cause of infertility.