The incidence of diseases is very high now, and male infertility is a very common male disease. Many patients have been married for a long time but have not been able to have their own babies. When they go to the hospital for examination, they often find that they have prostatitis and often have other symptoms. Understanding the symptoms of male infertility, once not discovered in the early stage, the difficulty of treatment in the later stage can be very high, so it is important to understand the symptoms of each disease in order to detect and treat them early and not to delay the condition.
How does prostatitis cause male infertility?
1. Obstruction of sperm transport: Chronic epididymitis and fibrosis caused by prostatitis, nodular formation, changes in the output channels such as spermatic corditis and ejaculatory duct obstruction, causing partial difficulty in ejaculation or obstructive azoospermia, thus leading to male infertility.
2. Decrease and changes in semen: Healthy males ejaculate about 2 to 6 ml each time, and since the volume occupied by sperm is minimal, the volume of semen is basically equal to the volume of seminal fluid. When the prostate becomes inflamed, the secretion of seminal fluid decreases, which is unfavorable for the survival and activity of sperm. On the other hand, the volume of seminal fluid may also increase, resulting in a decrease in sperm density and dilution of sperm, which can also affect fertility and cause male infertility.
3. Failure of semen liquefaction: When the prostate has chronic inflammation, the activity of a large amount of liquefying enzyme in the prostatic fluid decreases or the secretion decreases, the coagulation factor increases relatively, and the seminal fluid may contain bacteria, a large number of white blood cells, and even a large amount of pus, making it difficult for the semen to liquefy and the viscosity of the semen will also increase significantly, which is not conducive to the normal activity of sperm, thus causing male infertility.
4. Changes in semen pH: Seminal fluid contains a certain amount of nutrients to support and help sperm movement. During chronic prostatitis, the seminal fluid may be mixed with bacteria, inflammatory cells, increased lactic acid, bacterial toxins, and metabolic products excreted in the seminal fluid. The survival of bacteria and inflammatory cells also consumes a large amount of nutrients and oxygen, making the living environment for sperm extremely unfavorable. As a result, the reproductive capacity of sperm cannot be fully exerted, leading to male infertility.
Necessary tests for diagnosing male infertility:
Semen analysis: This is the most basic and important clinical indicator for measuring male fertility. The parameters related to semen are what doctors need to know first. Patients should be aware that they should not have intercourse a few days before the test. It is best to use masturbation to collect the sample and ensure that all semen is obtained. Follow the doctor's advice and undergo re-examination on time.
Endocrine examination: Disorders of reproductive endocrine function affect male sexual and reproductive function, which is an important cause of male infertility. Endocrine examination mainly includes the measurement of sex hormones T, FSH, LH, PRL, E2, and various stimulation tests, such as the HCG stimulation test.
Measurement of reproductive endocrine hormones: This includes the measurement of testosterone (T), LH, FSH, and other reproductive endocrine hormones. Combined with semen analysis and physical examination, it can provide a diagnosis for male infertility. If T, LH, and FSH are all low, secondary hypogonadism can be diagnosed. If only T decreases, LH is normal or high, and FSH is elevated, it can be diagnosed as primary gonadal failure. If T and LH are normal and FSH is high, it is diagnosed as selective spermatogenic epithelial dysfunction. If T, LH, and FSH are all increased, it is diagnosed as androgen resistance syndrome.
