Male infertility is the failure of a man of reproductive age to cause a healthy, fertile woman to get pregnant after one year of having unprotected sex.
Infertility is a major health issue in this century and in many developed nations, a combination of stressful living and life-styles have acted in concert to reduce population growth. Japan, Singapore, Italy, Canada and Australia are prominent in this regard. Each one of those nations has adopted novel means to boost their population and improve growth. Singapore has adopted a work ethic that incorporates a mid-afternoon break long enough for couples to go to their homes and attempt to cohabit. Australia and Canada have sought to increase population growth by encouraging immigration from elsewhere. The same thing applies to the United States.
In developing countries, this is not seen as a matter of concern because population growth is continuing at an alarming rate across the entire spectrum. In the face of overall population growth, no concern is expressed at the government level for the infertile man. That is not likely to change soon in the face of a booming population.
But within certain subsets of the population, even in those nations, reproductive health is a present and growing fact of life. It is now clear therefore, that a diagnosis of infertility is one which must worry a man. It is becoming clearer that when someone has been diagnosed with this condition, he must worry about some other problems with his health within a few years.
A man diagnosed as being infertile already has enough reason to worry about his life. Now, he must also worry about what the future holds for him in terms of his overall health.
It is a very sobering thought indeed for any individual to be confronted with so many unknown facts about his future health. Many men will never actually come down with any of these problems, to be certain, but the diagnosis makes it more likely that a real health problem could exist over the coming several years. Every man diagnosed with infertility ought to be warned of some of these possibilities by way of going beyond the routine examinations now considered as normal. It is a problem which is likely to grow in the coming years as the quality of life comes to bear on the overall health of many men and features like diet and a sedentary life style take their toll on health. A combination of these characteristics would surely make things worse for many.
Male infertility is now like dental caries, a reliable predictor of the quality of life within a few years of the diagnosis being made. A young man who is found to suffer from infertility will soon enough be found to have other health problems. He is likely to be diagnosed as an obese individual, because when he suffers from a diminished activity of his male gonads, the result could be a progressive weight gain. From the articles we have written before about the ills of an uncontrolled gain in weight, the remaining problems can be deduced. A man who gains weight progressively over a period of time is likely to become prone to developing diabetes, heart disease and high blood pressure. It all goes beyond this of course. Such a scenario is useful in helping to unravel whether such a man also takes an excessive amount of alcohol or is a heavy cigarette smoker during the course of the preliminary history-taking. Both of these latter factors are critical to other aspects of a man’s overall health status.
The other features range from arterial and heart disease to failure of sperm production, which has vast implications for the reproductive health of such an individual. Such a lifestyle coming to light will also help determine the overall status of the person’s liver, his hormone profile and his physical condition. It is amazing how what seems to be a routine visit to the hospital to seek a doctor’s attention seems to divert attention so profoundly to other things which appear to be so unrelated at face value that even the patient is often sceptical. One has often heard the opinion expressed to the effect that “the doctors are just conducting tests.” It may be time consuming and the effort may be expensive, but it is worthwhile all the time.
Another disease which infertility may mask is the presence of a varicocele found on routine physical examination. That is particularly the case if the varicocele is found on the left side of the scrotum, where its presence may indicate that there is cancer involving the left kidney. When a man has become used to hearing that he has a low sperm count and all of a sudden, he is told that he has cancer, life changes completely. Certainly, this changes very profoundly the course of the person’s treatment and even his life. The left kidney is singled out here for this analogy because of the peculiar nature of the flow of blood into its vein. This is how a diagnosis for something considered ordinary can alter the life of an individual.
Ask the doctor
Dear doctor, I have recently been diagnosed with low sperm count. Does this mean I am infertile? Is there any hope then for me to have children? What do I need to do in order to improve this count? 081661xxxxx
Low sperm count is a treatable condition. The doctor who requested for that particular investigation must have been able to tell you a few things about your result other than the fact that the count is low. Different types of low sperm count have different causes. The cause of each one determines the kind of treatment you are offered. As a general guide, therefore, there is hope for you with respect to having children. That hope improves with the sort of treatment you get as well.
Dear doctor, I want to know what could possibly cause the following and the likely solutions to them as they affect me: (1) if I sit down on a hard surface for a long time, it would seem as if there is no blood circulation around my pelvic/pubic region. (2) Sometimes when urinating, it spits into two. (3) What could cause a pain at the tip of the manhood as if one was pricked with a pin? (4) As you mentioned in your article about foods that are poisonous to the body, is noodles commonly consumed nowadays included and if so what is the long term side-effect? Also, some years ago, I was treated for staphylococcus, athough I doubt if it is completely out of my system. Probably, I may have contracted it through the toilet as I have never had sex? xxxxx@xxxx.com
There is nothing to fear. None of these complaints is a problem from the perspective of a person’s health. (1) When you sit on a hard surface for a long time, you sit on certain nerves that pass close to the bony points which you compress by sitting. It is that pressure which causes the numbness you may feel when you stand up. This is a normal consequence and all human beings experience it. It is a feeling which soon passes and thus resolves on its own. If a part of the body is not getting blood supplied to it, that part dies. If that happens to you, you will not be sending me emails. You will be seriously ill in the hospital. (2) If you urinate and it splits into two, it only means your urethra did not open fully as your urine came out. This also happens to all men. It is not a disease and even with you, it will not always happen. (3)The pain you feel at the tip of the penis when you urinate may be due to some infection or inflammation near the tip of the penis. You can visit your doctor for the relevant tests to be carried out to determine whether or not an infection is present. I do not believe you had a staphylococcal infection even at the time you claim to have had treatment. A staph infection is not a joke and it is not as ordinary as many people out there think it is. (4) The article about harmful foods did not mention noodles but it is now evident from certain studies that the regular consumption of that particular food puts you at risk for developing an expanding waist line, obesity, heart disease and diabetes.
Dear doctor, I am 20 years old. There is a whitish discharge coming out of my vagina and it has an odour. Please what can I do? 081616xxxxx
You have to see your doctor for a routine examination which should include various swab tests being done as well. That is the only way to determine which organism(s) may be responsible for the discharge you have.
Dear doctor, I am 23 years old. Sometimes I notice that my nipples become hard and painful and I have boils in my private part before and after my period. I want to know if it is normal and if not, what can be done. Thanks. 081379xxxxx
These are normal occurrences even though not every woman will experience them. You do not have to worry about these except for the inconvenience caused by the boils in particular.
Dear doctor, I am a man gradually approaching 60 years of age. On and off over the years, passing out excrement has been somewhat difficult for me. I would have the urge but on getting to the toilet, it is either I fart or only a small amount would come out. Even skipping dinner at times and taking fruits either in solid form or as extracted juice has not really helped. A few months ago, I started taking liquid paraffin as directed on the bottle. It worked for a while but in recent weeks, the situation has returned to what it used to be. What can the problem be and what do I do? Thank you. 090563xxxxx
This is something that has been with you for a long time. When you refer to passing stools with difficulty, there have to be certain features that will guide us. If you go to the toilet once in three days, that is regarded as normal. If you do so three times a day, and the stools are well formed and that has been your pattern, it is also normal. So, if the interval between stools is no longer than three days, and the only problem you have is that the stools are small and hard, there are a number of “stool softeners” you can use. These are available on a doctor’s prescription after due examination has been conducted to determine if you might be having some other problem.
Dear doctor, I am 46 and I suffer memory loss. My 17-year-old son who is in the university easily forgets simple information which bothers me a lot, though he said it does not affect his study. Is there a special diet to correct this? Thanks. 090268xxxxx
There is no diet to correct this problem as you put it. While your own memory loss could be due to age, your son’s difficulty could be due to the fact that he is so focussed on his studies that he has little time for what may be of no immediate interest to him. On the other hand, he may be so distracted by some other things such as video games, social media and similar engagements that he may equally have no time for your bits of information. Either way, I believe that you are being unduly anxious about him.
Dear doctor. I have a challenge with my manhood. What should I do? 090365xxxxx
Your question is unclear. What sort of challenge do you have with it? Is it too small or too large? Does it function or does it not? Or it is not even there at all? Every one of these is a challenge with their peculiar form of management. You will have to be more specific before you can be helped.
Dear doctor, I am a 65-year-old man. When I have sex with my wife, hardly will any sperm come out from my penis. What is the remedy? 080535xxxxx
Usually, no remedy is necessary because what is happening to you is due to aging. That some semen comes out at all is a plus and that alone guarantees that if you have sex with a younger woman of reproductive age, she can get pregnant. As a result of these facts, you have no need for any form of treatment. Thank you.
By Dr. Sylvester Ikhisemojie
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