Causes Of Low Sperm Count

Low sperm count in males, also called oligospermia, is a major cause of male infertility. Sperm count is considered as low when one ml of semen contains less than 15 million sperm the average is around 75 million sperm per mL.

Risk factors for low sperm count include obesity or overweight, having surgery in or around the testicles, and taking certain medications. Other things that may put you at risk include exposing your testicles to too much heat or having other medical issues. Beyond that, there are various causes of oligospermia, which can be divided into three main categories: medical, environmental, and lifestyle.

Diagnosing Low Sperm Count

If a couple having unprotected intercourse regularly for the last year and hasn’t gotten their partner pregnant, the couple may want to see their doctor. If a male partner has symptoms like trouble ejaculating, pain in the testicles, or previous surgeries needs to take an appointment sooner. Diagnosis for male infertility usually involves a physical exam, medical history, and semen analysis.

A semen analysis is helpful in receiving a diagnosis for sperm count under a microscope and checking for motility or movement of the sperm and the morphology or shape of the sperm. The doctor may even want to repeat the analysis to ensure consistent results because of the high variability between samples.

Other tests may include:

• blood tests to check hormones level in blood or chromosomes
• ultrasound or scan to visualize the testicles or prostate
• biopsy to evaluate sperm production in the case of blockages in any reproductive tract.

Treatment For Low Sperm Count

The treatment for low sperm count depends on the cause of infertility.

Surgery:  For cases involving large varicoceles, blockages in any reproductive tractor, or issues with sperm leaving the body, the best option is surgery to correct this problem. In other cases, sperm can be directly taken out by using assisted reproduction procedures like in vitro fertilization (IVF) by surgically retrieving it from the testicle or epididymis.

Medications: Infections in the reproductive tract can be treated with medications. It’s important to treat infections promptly. Sometimes the infection is properly treated, and sperm count may not always return to normal if permanent tissue scarring has occurred.

Counseling: Issues with sexual intercourse, including erectile dysfunction or premature ejaculation, this problem may respond to a combination of medication and counseling.

Hormonal treatments: Hormone level is important for spermatogenesis since testosterone and other hormone levels that are either too high or too low can cause low sperm count, regulate the hormone levels with medications and other treatments may help restore fertility.

Assisted Reproduction

In some cases of abnormal semen quality, doctors may suggest intrauterine insemination (IUI). This procedure may involve taking a drug to a female partner to support egg development. At the time of ovulation, take the partner’s semen, and process this sample washed and concentrated. and placed in the uterus during ovulation or the day after ovulation using a long, flexible tube.

If the sperm count is very low or less than 5 million per ml and medicine is not effective, then in vitro fertilization (IVF) may be a better option. In this procedure, doctors give the female partner certain drugs to develop healthy eggs and retrieve the mature eggs surgically. Sperm can be collected and fertilized the eggs using the ICSI technique. ICSI is an effective treatment for men with infertility.