Even if everything does appear normal and healthy on the surface, you can't really tell whether your sperm is healthy just by looking at it. Scheduling an appointment with your healthcare provider to perform a semen analysis is the only way to find out for sure.
Healthy semen is a cloudy white color with a jelly consistency similar to a raw egg. Slight changes in semen color, texture, and even smell might be normal and should no pose concern. In some cases, semen color changes could be a sign of an underlying issue.
Even if the semen test shows low sperm numbers or no sperm, it may not mean you are permanently infertile. It may just show there's a problem with the growth or delivery of sperm. More testing may be needed. Even if no sperm are seen on a semen analysis, then treatment may be possible.
You should see your healthcare provider any time you notice unusual body changes like yellow or brownish semen with specks. Brown or speckled semen may indicate blood in semen (hematospermia). Yellow or brown semen may not be cause for concern. But it could indicate a problem that requires treatment.
There are fertility tests for both men and women. To determine whether trouble conceiving is due to male infertility, the fertility doctor will usually start by taking a full medical history. He or she will then do a physical examination followed by a semen analysis to check sperm count and observe sperm movement.
The concentration of sperm is what makes the semen cloudy and thick, so if your ejaculate is watery it is possible that you have a low sperm count. This doesn't mean you're infertile (so precautions to prevent pregnancy still need to be taken for couples that don't want to get pregnant).
How many sperm do you need to get pregnant? It takes just one sperm to fertilize a woman's egg. Keep in mind, though, for each sperm that reaches the egg, there are millions that don't. On average, each time men ejaculate they release nearly 100 million sperm.
Contrary to what you may think, watery semen may actually be more alarming than clumpy semen. If semen has a watery consistency, a person's sperm count may be too low. Ejaculating too much or too often, and zinc deficiencies can also contribute to watery semen.
Causes of male infertility
Abnormal sperm production or function due to undescended testicles, genetic defects, health problems such as diabetes, or infections such as chlamydia, gonorrhea, mumps or HIV. Enlarged veins in the testes (varicocele) also can affect the quality of sperm.
Some studies suggest that moderate ejaculation (2–4 times per week) is associated with a lower prostate cancer risk. However, ejaculating more often doesn't mean your cancer risk drops even more.
Male Fertility Facts
Peak male fertility is around 25-29 years old. Sperm quality begins to decline at 30. At 45, men begin to experience a significant decrease in semen volume. Older men can also take longer to conceive a child.
Super fertility has been classified as a monthly fecundity (the ability to get pregnant) rate of 60% or greater. A regular menstrual cycle and high antral follicle count are signs of high fertility. Perimenopause, fibroids, and endometriosis can make conceiving and sustaining pregnancy more difficult.
The sperm enters the egg in the fallopian tube. It can happen even 3-5 days after ejaculation. There is no way for either of the partners to know if the sperm entered the egg. The only way to know for sure if the sperm did enter the egg is after a positive pregnancy test.
It can take anything from 45 minutes to 12 hours for a sperm to reach your fallopian tubes, which is where conception usually happens. However, sperm can survive inside your body for up to seven days, so conception can happen at any point in the week after unprotected sex, if you're ovulating.
Sperm would have a 5% probability of surviving more than 4.4 days and a 1% probability of surviving more than 6.8 days.
Once the sperm enters the reproductive system, it can take about 30-45 minutes to reach the egg. For this, it is important to have a healthy sperm which has the right kind of motility to reach the egg and fertilize it. Once inside the body of a woman, a healthy sperm can live up to 2-5 days.
Some research suggests that increasing body mass index (BMI) is linked with decreasing sperm count and sperm movement. Eat a healthy diet. Choose plenty of fruits and vegetables, which are rich in antioxidants — and might help improve sperm health. Prevent sexually transmitted infections (STIs).
Studies have shown that the total motile sperm count (volume × concentration × motility) has been the most predictive factor in determining fertility compared to volume, concentration, and motility individually [6].
Usually, each millilitre of semen contains millions of spermatozoa (sperm), but the majority of the volume consists of secretions of the glands in the male reproductive organs. It is quite normal for semen to form jelly-like globules and this does not indicate any health or fertility problem.
Is Edging Effective in Increasing Sperm Count? In short, yes, it increases the number of sperm ejected, but only if abstinence is observed. If you ejaculate every day, your sperm reserves would be exhausted.
There is no specific frequency with which a man should ejaculate. There is no solid evidence that failure to ejaculate causes health problems. However, ejaculating frequently can reduce the man's risk of getting prostate cancer. Ejacu-lation can be through having sex or masturbating a few times a day.