MALE INFERTILITY IS COMMON , BUT REMAINS A TABOO ISSUE

Male infertility is common , but remains a taboo issue .

Many people think of infertility as a women's issue , when in fact 20-30% can be due to male factor , in other words the man.

On Mother's Day , many people take time to acknowledge how hard the holiday can be for women facing infertility. But Father's Day can be painful for infertile men, too , reminding them of their condition , and of the child or children they don't have yet.

"We are not able to have a baby. Can you please check what is wrong with my wife(daughter in law) "  This is a common complaint heard from a majority of couples. Traditionally , this presumption held some merit. Upon testing and diagnosis , the male factor was found to be the cause of infertility in only about 15% of total cases.

But this has dramatically changed over the last few decades.

Male infertility is harder to resolve , In fact , it goes undiagnosed in almost 25-30%cases , which means that even after examination and testing the doctors are unable to explain what is causing it.

When all internal conditions are ruled out , there are factors outside the body which are having an impact on the male factor. These can include stress , radiation from mobile phones and laptops, pollution , addiction to tobacco or alcohol. All of these factors are related to lifestyle and very difficult to mitigate.

Apart from these lifestyle factors , the other most common cause is varicocele , a medical condition where there is a swelling of veins that drain the testicle. This directly impacts the quality of sperms being produced. About 20% cases of male infertility can be attributed to this condition , which can be easily treated through a surgical procedure.

Another reason, widely brushed under the carpet is sexual dysfunction like getting an erection and or premature ejaculation. Couples don't reveal theses problems easily. Even educated couples shy away from disclosures.

A small fraction of cases can be attributed to an infection- bacterial or viral like Herpes , STDs or rarely even TB, which can affect sperm count.

Environmental causes like sustained exposure to heavy metal or to high temperatures or radiations and X rays can also cause male infertility. 

Overheating of testicles has an adverse impact on testicular sperm production and in cases where the exposure is for long hours , it can even be irreversible.

So the taboo which is surrounding that women is only responsible for not being pregnant is a case where the mens are too responsible for not having the fertile sperms.