Nowadays, the incidence of diseases is very high, 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 is important. Once it is not detected early, the difficulty of treatment in the later stage can be very high. Therefore, it is necessary to understand the symptoms of each disease so that it can be detected and treated early, and the condition will not be delayed.
How does prostatitis cause male infertility?
1. Obstruction of sperm transport: Chronic epididymitis and epididymal fibrosis caused by prostatitis, nodular formation, changes in output channels such as seminal vesiculitis and ejaculatory duct obstruction, can cause partial difficulty in ejaculation or obstructive azoospermia, thereby causing male infertility.
2. Decrease and change in semen: Healthy males have a volume of 2-6ml of semen each time they ejaculate. Since sperm accounts for a very small volume, the volume of semen is basically equal to the volume of seminal plasma. When the prostate becomes inflamed, the secretion of seminal plasma decreases, which is not conducive to the survival and activity of sperm. On the other hand, the volume of seminal plasma may also increase, resulting in a decrease in sperm density and dilution of sperm, which can also affect fertility and cause male infertility.
3. Semen non-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 plasma may contain bacteria, a large number of white blood cells, and even a large amount of pus, making the semen difficult to liquefy and the viscosity of the semen increases significantly, which is not conducive to the normal activity of sperm, thus causing male infertility.
4. Change in semen pH: Seminal plasma contains a certain amount of nutrients to nourish sperm and help sperm move. When there is chronic prostatitis, bacteria, inflammatory cells, and lactic acid substances may be mixed in the seminal plasma. The toxins and metabolites of bacteria are also excreted in the seminal plasma. The survival of bacteria and inflammatory cells also consumes a large amount of nutrients and oxygen, making the living environment of sperm unfavorable. Therefore, sperm cannot fully exert their reproductive ability, resulting in male infertility.
Necessary examinations for diagnosing male infertility:
Semen analysis: This is the most basic and important clinical indicator for measuring male fertility. The parameters of semen are what doctors need to know first. Patients should note that they should not have sexual intercourse a few days before the examination, and it is best to use masturbation to obtain the specimen, ensuring that all semen is obtained, and follow the doctor's advice for reexamination.
Endocrine examination: Dysfunction of reproductive endocrine function affects male sexual and reproductive functions and is an important cause of male infertility. Endocrine examination mainly involves the measurement of sex hormones T, FSH, LH, PRL, and E2, and various stimulation tests, such as HCG stimulation test.
Measurement of reproductive endocrine hormones: This includes the measurement of testosterone, LH, FSH, and other reproductive endocrine hormones. Combined with semen analysis and physical examination, it can provide a diagnosis for the cause of male infertility. If T, LH, and FSH are all low, secondary testicular dysfunction can be diagnosed; if only T decreases, LH is normal or high, and FSH is increased, primary testicular failure can be diagnosed; if T and LH are normal, and FSH is increased, it can be diagnosed as selective spermatogenic epithelial dysfunction; if T, LH, and FSH are all increased, it can be diagnosed as androgen resistance syndrome.
