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 healthy sperm count is about 15 million or more for every milliliter (mL) of semen. The more you have, the more likely one of them will make it through the female reproductive system to an egg. Movement (motility). Not every sperm moves effectively or even at all, but this is normal.
Low sperm count symptoms might include: Problems with sexual function — for example, low sex drive or difficulty maintaining an erection (erectile dysfunction) Pain, swelling or a lump in the testicle area. Decreased facial or body hair or other signs of a chromosome or hormone abnormality.
Use of cocaine or marijuana may temporarily reduce the number and quality of your sperm as well. Alcohol use. Drinking alcohol can lower testosterone levels, cause erectile dysfunction and decrease sperm production. Liver disease caused by excessive drinking also may lead to fertility problems.
Frequent male masturbation isn't likely to have much effect on your fertility. Some data shows that optimum semen quality occurs after two to three days of no ejaculation. But other research suggests that men who have normal sperm quality maintain normal sperm motility and concentrations even with daily ejaculation.
Healthy semen is usually a cloudy-white or grey fluid with a jelly-like consistency. 'It is a complex liquid usually white or grey in colour, sometimes yellowish and has a bleach like smell due to its content of alkaline substances,' says Davies.
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.
Some types of vitamins, including vitamins D, C, E, and CoQ10, are important for sperm health. One study showed that taking 1,000 mg of vitamin C every day can help men's sperm concentration and mobility.
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.
Thick semen usually results from a higher than normal concentration of sperm in a typical volume of semen, or from having a high number of sperm with an irregular shape (morphology). High sperm concentration often indicates that you're more likely to impregnate a female partner.
Smoking, drinking alcohol, and taking certain medications can lower sperm numbers. Other causes of low sperm numbers include long-term sickness (such as kidney failure), childhood infections (such as mumps), and chromosome or hormone problems (such as low testosterone).
Semen is normally a whitish-gray color. Changes in semen color might be temporary and harmless or a sign of an underlying condition that requires further evaluation. Possible causes, by color, include: Red semen.
Sperm in the first fraction of ejaculate are more numerous, move more and present better quality DNA than those lagging behind.
Sperm Motility and Age
1 Sperm motility was best before age 25 and lowest after age 55. In fact, when comparing the number of “good swimming” sperm in men between the ages 30 to 35 with men over age 55, sperm motility decreased by 54%.
The primary characteristic of healthy sperm can be indicated from its thickness. If the sperm is thick and sticky, it means that you are in good health.
After ejaculation, proteins contained in semen can cause it to become thick, sticky, and clumpy. This consistency helps increase the chances for fertilization, since the semen is less likely quickly to come out if it sticks high in the vagina.
You produce sperm every day, but a full sperm regeneration cycle (spermatogenesis) takes about 64 days. Spermatogenesis is the complete cycle of sperm production and maturation. It constantly supplies your body with sperm able to travel through the vagina to an unfertilized ovum in a woman's ovaries to conceive.
A man might have watery semen if he doesn't get enough zinc in his diet. Zinc is an important nutrient for sperm production. Men who ejaculate several times a day might also develop watery semen, since the body needs time to “catch up” on its semen production.
You can visit a clinic or doctor's office. However, we recommend using an at-home testing kit, such as themyLAB Box Male Fertility Home Test. As you can probably guess, home sperm tests measure your total sperm count. This is helpful, since beyond testing, there may not be any visible signs and symptoms of infertility.
Clear semen may result in case of frequent ejaculation and may indicate low sperm count. White semen indicates less frequent ejaculations and is a thick and cloudy fluid.