Patient's question:
I have been married to my beloved for many years, but we have never had our own children. After checking at the hospital, they said there was no problem with my beloved, but it was my issue. They said my semen test results were abnormal. What should I do in this situation?Doctor's answer:
Generally speaking, the amount of semen expelled by a healthy adult male varies depending on the duration of abstinence. The longer the period of abstinence, the more sperm are stored in the body. Although the epididymal microenvironment is conducive to sperm maturation and survival, sperm cannot survive indefinitely; they continuously age and lose vitality. With prolonged abstinence, the volume of semen can reach up to 10 milliliters for those with longer abstinence periods, while frequent ejaculation may result in only a few drops.How can you determine if semen is normal? First, consider its color. Normal semen is grayish-white and viscous, resembling egg white. If abstinence has been prolonged and ejaculation has not occurred, it may appear pale yellow. Newly expelled semen has high viscosity but completely liquefies within half an hour. If the viscosity of newly expelled semen is very low, it is abnormal, often indicating a lower number of sperm.
Normal semen is weakly alkaline, with a pH of approximately 7.5. Values below pH 7.2 are considered abnormal.
How can you determine if semen is normal? Next, consider the quantity and quality, i.e., the amount of semen and the quality of sperm. Generally, normal semen volume is about 2–6 milliliters, with an average of 3–4 milliliters. The normal number of sperm per milliliter of semen is approximately 100–150 million. If the number of sperm per milliliter is less than 60 million, it is considered abnormal. However, this alone should not be used to conclude infertility, as multiple factors often contribute to it.
In normal semen, approximately 85–90% of sperm are active, with the minimum not falling below 60%. Abnormal sperm (non-motile or dead sperm) should not exceed 15–20%.