Not Just a Woman's Problem: Male Infertility Treatment Options
A couple is considered to be "infertile" when they have been able to conceive after a full year of consistent, unprotected intercourse. In many of these cases, it is assumed that the problem lies somewhere within the woman's body. However, many cases of infertility involve problems with the man as well. There are many possible reasons for male infertility, and your doctor can help you to pinpoint the specific cause with a series of tests that will aid in the diagnostic process. Once a cause can be determined, focus can then shift to male infertility treatment options.
Lifestyles Changes
For some men, male infertility treatment may be as simple as making modifications to your lifestyle. This is because some of the causes of male infertility involve the consumption of alcohol or drugs, excessive exercising and obesity. By avoiding the substances that are identified as culprits, cutting back on the exercise or losing weight, the infertility issue may take care of itself. Another possible problem could be an increased temperature around the testicles that could be caused from wearing tight clothing or taking too many hot baths. Wearing looser clothes like boxer shorts and cutting back on soaking in hot water may be an effective male infertility treatment in this case.
Low Sperm Count
If the diagnosis is a low sperm count, there are other types of male infertility treatments that your doctor might recommend. He may encourage you to have intercourse less frequently, so that a healthy amount of sperm has time to accumulate. He may also suggest taking vitamins, since some studies have shown that increasing your intake of zinc and folic acid may improve sperm counts. One fairly new procedure that can help greatly with low sperm counts is a process where the doctor can inject a single sperm into an egg so that fertilization can take place. This procedure is called ICSI, which stands for intracytoplasmic sperm injection. ICSI has grown in popularity as it has been shown to be an effective male infertility treatment option.
There are other types of male infertility treatments that can take sperm directly from the testicles in the instances where sperm does not show up in the semen. This is another procedure that has proven to be successful for many men. In the case of hormonal imbalances, hormone treatments can also be used. When it comes to male infertility treatment, there are many effective options for men today.
