Bottom line: Men generally see a decrease in fertility beginning at 35, and the decline progresses from there. The age men are most fertile may be between 30 and 35, but we haven't yet determined a specific window of peak fertility.
There are several male fertility home-testing kits available to buy from pharmacies. These tests claim to indicate whether your sperm count is low.
Causes of male infertility
These may include: 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.
Your health care provider will study your sperm volume, count, concentration, movement ("motility"), and structure. The results of the semen analysis tests tells about your ability to conceive (start a pregnancy). Even if the semen test shows low sperm numbers or no sperm, it may not mean you are permanently infertile.
Male fertility generally starts to reduce around age 40 to 45 years when sperm quality decreases. Increasing male age reduces the overall chances of pregnancy and increases time to pregnancy (the number of menstrual cycles it takes to become pregnant) and the risk of miscarriage and fetal death.
Fertility is most likely if the semen discharged in a single ejaculation (ejaculate) contains at least 15 million sperm per milliliter. Too little sperm in an ejaculation might make it more difficult to get pregnant because there are fewer candidates available to fertilize the egg.
Medication can treat some issues that affect male fertility, including hormone imbalances and erectile dysfunction. Surgery can be effective for repairing blockages in the tubes that transport sperm. Surgery can also be used for repair of varicocele.
Because of this technique, 90% of all infertile males have the potential to conceive their own genetic child. In vitro fertilization: For some couples dealing with male infertility, in vitro fertilization (IVF) is the treatment of choice.
About 9% of men and about 11% of women of reproductive age in the United States have experienced fertility problems. In one-third of infertile couples, the problem is with the man.
The good news is that infertility often is treatable. Male infertility should not be confused with erectile dysfunction, which is the inability to get or keep an erection long enough for sex and tends to be easily treated.
Like female fertility, male fertility declines throughout adulthood, but experts suggest that a man's age doesn't have a significant effect on his fertility until he's in his 40s, because there's only about a 1–2% decrease in sperm motility/morphology per year.
The first step in male fertility testing is the semen analysis. A semen analysis is a fairly simple, non-invasive test in which a semen sample, typically produced via masturbation, is examined under a high-powered microscope to determine the quantity and quality of sperm.
Sperm disorders
Problems with making healthy sperm are the most common causes of male infertility. Sperm may be immature, abnormally shaped, or unable to swim. In some cases, you may not have enough sperm.
Some at-home tests also check how well sperm can move. For a home sperm test, you collect a semen sample by ejaculating into a small cup. A home sperm test may be appealing because you can do it in the privacy of your own home. Results are often ready within a few minutes.
A diet rich in processed and according to some sources, red meat, fatty dairy, coffee, alcohol, sweet drinks and sweets, potatoes, and simultaneously deficient in whole-grain products, vegetables and fruits, poultry, fish and seafood, nuts, and lean dairy is associated with poorer semen parameters and reduced fertility ...
A healthy ejaculate should have 15 million sperm cells or more per milliliter. Sperm motility: This is only noticeable under the microscope. Sperm cells should move actively to reach the egg. It is considered healthy sperm when 40% or more sperms are highly motile.
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.
How much you can expect to spend on a male fertility test. Most male fertility tests cost $25-$40 apiece. Some brands include more than one test per kit, so you may have to pay double or triple this amount.
Male fertility problems include poor quality sperm, low sperm count or blockages in the tubes of the reproductive system. Treatment options for poor sperm quality include inseminating the man's partner with a concentrated sample of the man's semen and intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI).
1) Your ejaculate is white or light grey in colour.
“Yellowish or greenish discoloration or the presence of flakes in the semen often points to the presence of infection.” Reddish or brownish discoloration may suggest a condition called hematospermia — the presence of blood in your semen.