Can Male Infertility Be Reversed?

Can infertility in men be reversed and cured? In general, the answer is dependent on the cause of the problem – whether it is curable or incurable. The prognosis and outlook of male infertility can vary from person to person. Fortunately, today there are plenty of options to reverse it. And with the improvement of new medications and technology, the prognosis has changed from disheartening to quite promising.

Unfortunately, many times this problem is not preventable [1]. However there are some known factors /causes that can affect male fertility. And you can start from these known causes to reduce your risk of infertility as low as possible.

For instance, if you and your partner are expecting a pregnancy, excessive consumption of alcohol should be avoided. Other lifestyle approaches you can do include:

1. Stop smoking if you are smoker, because abusing tobacco may affect your sperm quality.
2. Keep the temperature of your testicles as comfortable as possible. Excessive pressure and heat that affect the testicles can affect the quality of your sperm. Though the effect may be temporary, but if you get it too often, this can harm the health of your testicles in producing good sperms.
3. Control your stress!
4. Here is a complete guide about lots of things that men can do to boost their fertility!

Some men who have previously had a vasectomy can be less fertile or even may become infertile [2]. Though there is available a surgery option to reverse vasectomy with a successful result, you should not take it if you are uncertain whether you expect to father additional kids.

Theoretically, the failing of getting a pregnancy can be caused by the problem in the female partner alone, or in the male partner alone, or both.

Some studies showed that 15 percent of all cases come with normal fertility in both partner, 30 percent occurs in both partners with problems, and 20 percent due to the problems in male partner alone [2].

Since the chance to reverse the problem is closely dependent on the cause, it’s important for men with fertility problems to find the underlying condition behind the problem.

There are many factors and causes that can lead to fertility problems in men. The following are some common causes [3].

1. General illness, these can include malnutrition, kidney problems, or cirrhosis.
2. Environmental causes such as exposure to harmful chemicals, toxins, or radiation.
3. Problems in spermatogenesis or testicles that can cause abnormal sperm functions (such as low sperm count and poor sperm motility).
4. Problems that affect the sperm flow in the male reproductive system such as genital infections, ejaculation problems, or varicose veins within scrotum. The blockage of tubes in the male reproductive organs also can significantly affect the sperm transportation.
5. The use of certain medications such as anabolic steroids – and medications for cancer.
6. Medical causes such as celiac disease, tumors, hormone imbalances, chromosome defects, tumors /cancers that affect the reproductive male organs, intercourse problem, etc.
7. Lifestyle factors such as smoking, abusing alcohol, uncontrolled stress, and obesity.

Since there are lots of causes behind the problem, the answer is very complex – and again it is closely dependent on the cause of the problem.

In general, the prognosis is very good if the cause is associated with lifestyle factors because they are changeable risk factors. And if there is medical cause behind the problem, typically it requires medical intervention.

Unfortunately, about almost 50 percent of all cases come without known reason. In other words, a half of infertile men, there is no specific trigger factor or cause that can be identified.

But the good news, about 50 percent of men with infertility has identifiable causes which most of them can be reversed [2].