What Factors Affect Sperm Health?
1 food packaging and cosmetics
Decreased sperm quality
- 1 food packaging and cosmetics
- A recent press release from the German Research Association said that the decline in male sperm counts worldwide over the past few decades could be related to a chemical called phthalates.
- Phthalates are a class of softening chemicals. They are commonly used in toys, food packaging, vinyl flooring, wallpaper, cleaners, lubricants, nail polish, hair sprays, soaps and shampoos. Research has shown that phthalates can interfere with endocrine, reduce male sperm counts, reduce exercise capacity, and abnormal morphology, and severely cause testicular cancer, which is the culprit for male reproductive problems. .
- Among cosmetics, nail polish has the highest phthalate content. It enters the body through women's respiratory system and skin, endangering the reproductive system of baby boys they will have in the future. Phthalates also pass through plastic Food and water in containers enter the human body, such as canned food coatings, recyclable milk and mineral water bottles. Studies have shown that foods with higher fat content in canned foods are more likely to be contaminated, such as pork, anchovies, sardines, etc. Fetuses, infants, and adolescent children are most sensitive to it, and their health is also the most vulnerable to it. In order to reduce the harm of phthalates to the human body, it is usually best not to use instant plastic noodles in foam containers, and do not use polyvinyl chloride. The plastic container heats the food in a microwave oven. The correct way is to heat the food in a heat-resistant glass or ceramic ware.
- 2 car exhaust
- Automobile exhaust contains a lot of harmful substances, such as sulfur dioxide, carbon dioxide, etc. The human body is exposed to these substances for a long time, which will cause cumulative damage, which not only affects reproductive health, but also may increase the incidence of diseases such as tumors. The most serious is automobile exhaust. The dioxin contained in it is a very strong environmental endocrine disrupting substance, which can change the testicular morphology, reduce the number of sperm, and reduce the ability of spermatogenesis of men.
- 3 Tobacco and alcohol
- Smoking has always been the enemy of physical health, and the effect on semen is also obvious. There have been long foreign studies that show that compared with non-smokers, major indicators of semen quality are significantly reduced, and the rate of sperm abnormalities Elevated, the number of white blood cells in semen increased. Nicotine and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons produced in tobacco can cause testicular atrophy and change in sperm morphology. Alcohol has a direct impact on human liver and male testes. Studies have found that chronic alcoholism Patients experience testicular atrophy, which can lead to a decrease in semen quality. Therefore, men must avoid frequent excessive drinking.
- 4 estrogen
- Estrogen can significantly affect the male reproductive system, including affecting the level of androgens, causing changes in testicular tissue structure, causing testicular cancer, reducing the number of sperm in semen, causing male breast development, and causing endocrine disorders. Men's short-term administration contains estrogen The drug does not have a significant impact on the reproductive system, but long-term contact with items containing estrogen in life will cause greater harm to reproductive health. For example, some men use female cosmetics at random when they are in skin care. These cosmetics are specially developed for women Some of them contain certain estrogen, and long-term use will damage male reproductive health and cause hypogonadism.
- 5 trace elements
- The trace elements related to male fertility mainly include zinc, selenium, copper, calcium, and magnesium. Zinc is an important element in the reproductive system. Zinc deficiency affects the development of adolescent male reproductive organs and secondary sexual characteristics, and reduces the ability of sperm to move. Weaken the body's immune function, making men prone to infectious diseases such as prostatitis and epididymitis. The lack of selenium will increase the concentration of peroxides in the body, causing damage to the male reproductive system and testes. Therefore, men should eat more Foods high in zinc and selenium, such as milk, corn, black rice, black beans, etc.
- 6 temperature
- High temperature can cause damage to the testes, but how high the temperature and how long it is exposed to this temperature will affect the testes, which is still being debated in the academic community. In animal experiments, male animals are placed at 38.5. After 55 minutes at C, their fertility will decrease. In real life, men should try to avoid staying in high temperature environments for too long, such as taking a sauna and taking a hot bath.
- 7 drugs
- Anti-cancer, hormones, antibiotics and other drugs can damage male gonad function, cause sperm quantity and quality decline, or affect the endocrine function of gonads, leading to sexual dysfunction. The effect of drugs on male fertility is affected by the type, dose, and duration of treatment And the age of the patient. Generally, the larger the dose of the drug, the longer the course of treatment, and the younger the patient's age, the more serious the reproductive function is and the longer it takes to restore reproductive function. At present, socially There are a lot of health products, and some contain sex hormones or similar ingredients, which may affect the normal spermatogenic function of the testes, and unmarried and infertile people should be extra careful when choosing.
- 8 noise
- With the development of modernization, the impact of urban noise on health has become more prominent. Noise is a type of environmental pollution. In recent years, some experts have proposed the theory of environmental hormones, pointing out that there are chemicals in the environment that can affect human endocrine functions like hormones. Substances and noise are one of them. It can cause endocrine disorders in the human body, causing abnormal semen and sperm. Prolonged noise pollution can cause male infertility; for women, it can cause miscarriage and fetal malformations.
- 9 radiation
- Radiation has a clear impact on human health. Large doses of radiation can cause changes in testicular tissue structure, increase the abnormal rate of sperm, reduce the number of sperm, and other important indicators of sperm density. However, will small doses of radiation cause There are currently no precise research results on education. Whether the electronic devices we use every day, such as mobile phones and computers, can cause infertility, there is a lot of controversy in the academic community. Therefore, men should always minimize their contact with radiation sources, but also Don't be overly nervous.
- 10 drugs
- There are many people who use drugs in our country.Some drugs, such as marijuana and cocaine, have an impact on semen quality. Cannabis can reduce the level of androgens in the blood, reduce the sperm density, and lead to the development of male breasts. Cocaine can reduce the sperm density.
- The semen is frozen, like # 39; # 39; ... or ... the semen becomes thin, transparent and even # 39; not much worse than water
- Low sperm survival: low sperm survival refers to sperm survival (dead sperm greater than 50%), sperm morphology (normal form sperm less than 70%), semen acid phosphatase (less than 25,000 to 60,000 units / ml), semen Fructose (less than 150-800 mg / 100 ml). Low sperm motility: Sperm motility is an indicator that comprehensively evaluates the quantity and quality of sperm. Its content includes the number of normally active sperm in the semen, that is, the sperm motility rate, and the quality of normal motile sperm, that is, the sperm motility. The method of confirming sperm motility has not yet been unified, but it tends to a five-level classification, whose content is: level 0 is inactive. Level 1 is poor vitality, which means that the sperm only move in place or rotate. Level 2 is moderately active, meaning that the sperm swim straight forward, but are not active. Level 3 is good, indicating good sperm motility, and level 4 is good, indicating that sperm are actively moving in a straight line. Low sperm motility refers to those with sperm motility below level 2, and the number of motile sperm, that is, the sperm motility rate is less than 50%.
- Sperm is scarce: oligozoospermia is when the number of sperm in the semen is lower than normal healthy fertile men. It is now considered that sperm count is less than 20 million per ml as oligozoospermia. However, it is often accompanied by changes such as low sperm motility, poor forward mobility, and high sperm deformity. At this time, it is called weak azoospermia, and oligospermia is a more common male infertility condition.
- Too many dead sperm: Dead sperm refers to multiple semen tests, and all sperm are dead. Under normal circumstances, within 1 hour after the semen is excreted from the body, the normal surviving sperm should be more than 70%. If the dead sperm exceeds 40%, it will affect the conception. Sperm survival time should be maintained at 6 hours survival rate of more than 20%, if there is no surviving sperm within 6 hours, can cause infertility.
- The semen is solidified, like # 39; # 39; ... or ... the semen becomes very thin, transparent and even # 39; not much worse than water.
- Experts suggest that men should start with small things in life and protect their sperm. For example, you should wear shorts with cushions and choose a bicycle with good shock absorption when riding a bicycle; put your mobile phone in your jacket pocket; keep the computer screen at least 70 cm away from the computer screen and Keep a distance of not less than 120 cm on both sides; don't put your laptop on your knees; don't wear tight pants and so on.