Patient's question:
Doctor, my husband is infertile. He went to the hospital for a check-up and was told that all his sperm are dead. Could you please tell me what causes dead sperm? Is it related to lifestyle habits or is there another reason? What are some effective treatments available?Doctor's answer:
Hello, Western medicine believes that the causes of dead sperm are related to the following factors:1. Lack of certain nutrients essential for sperm survival in semen. Fructose is mainly produced by the seminal vesicles and is necessary for sperm survival and motility. When the seminal vesicles are inflamed, the fructose content in seminal fluid decreases. Bacterial and inflammatory cell infiltration can also lead to excessive consumption of nutrients, causing a deficiency.
2. Changes in semen pH. The normal pH of semen is 7.2–7.8. If the pH is <7 or >9, sperm motility significantly decreases. In cases of dead sperm syndrome, the pH is often below 7.0, indicating that increased acidity in semen may be a factor causing sperm death. Additionally, when reproductive organs are inflamed, the influence of bacterial metabolic products and inflammatory secretions can lower the pH of semen, leading to sperm death.
3. Insufficient oxygen supply. Inflammation of the reproductive organs, especially prostatitis and seminal vesiculitis, can cause congestion, edema, and local stasis, leading to insufficient blood supply. As sperm pass through deformed or inflamed seminal vesicles, prostates, and ducts, they may die due to hypoxia.
4. Other ureaplasma urealyticum infection. On one hand, it can reduce or eliminate sperm motility; on the other hand, it can invade the prostate and seminal vesicles, causing abnormal seminal plasma composition and secretion, leading to sperm death. The presence of blood or pus cells in semen can also increase sperm death. Abnormal levels of trace elements in semen, especially zinc, can also affect sperm motility and cause sperm death.
Traditional Chinese medicine, this condition is mostly caused by congenital deficiency, declining kidney qi; excessive sexual activity leading to depleted kidney yin; or illness after birth that damages the seminal vesicles;