5 Different Causes of Male Infertility

When it comes to starting your family, you often want to push the idea of infertility as far away as possible. However, infertility is a common issue that affects more than five million couples every year just in the United States alone, and about 15 percent of couples are not able to conceive in the first year of trying. While there is often a focus on female infertility, male infertility plays an equally important role in not being able to conceive. Let’s take a look at five different causes of infertility in men.

Hormonal Issues

Hormones play an important role in sexual reproduction, and that includes a man’s sperm. Disorders that affect your hypothalamus or pituitary glands can cause infertility and other sexual functions like maintaining or getting an erection. These hormonal issues can be chronic from lifelong conditions or be caused by temporary things like medication.

Retrograde Ejaculation

Retrograde ejaculation is a condition where your sperm doesn’t exit your penis during orgasm. Instead, your sperm enters your bladder. You will still experience and reach orgasm, but there will be very little to no semen. While retrograde ejaculation isn’t harmful, it can cause issues with conception.

Autoimmune Issues

Autoimmune issues can cause various issues across the body, including infertility. Your immune system may mistakenly attack your sperm, believing it is foreign to the body and dangerous. This can degrade the quality and amount of sperm produced.

Alcohol and Substance Abuse

Many illicit substances and alcohol are shown to increase male infertility. This is common in substances like cocaine, narcotics, heroin, methamphetamine, and more. Alcohol consumption can also lower testosterone and decrease sperm production.

Physical Blockage

Physical blockages in the testicles can inhibit or prevent sperm production or ejaculation. This can be present at birth or be caused by an injury to the testicles. Physical trauma to the prostate or urethra can also cause similar issues. These various issues can prevent proper conception.

Treating Male Infertility

As you can see, male infertility is a complex issue that differs entirely for each person and depends on the root causes. Thankfully, Dr. Anand Shridharani provides comprehensive men’s health services. Dr. Shridharani understands the complex nature of male infertility and will help find the root cause of your infertility and provide appropriate treatment. If you have male infertility or struggling to conceive, contact Dr. Shridharani’s office at 423-778-4MEN (4636) today.