Oligospermia: Symptoms, Causes, Diagnosis And Treatment

What Does Oligospermia Means?

There are many factors that influence your fertility. Since the average childbearing age is actively being delayed by couples around the globe, infertility problems are on the rise. Did you know that about 40% of the couples who experience infertility have primary male infertility? You may not realise that you have infertility until you try and fail to conceive and build a family.

In several cases, there are no apparent symptoms of infertility or any condition that can lead to infertility. Oligospermia is one such health condition. This article explores the meaning of oligospermia along with its causes, symptoms, and possible treatment options.

What Is Oligospermia?

Oligospermia is a medical condition found in men, which is characterised by a low sperm count in their semen. To impregnate a woman, a healthy amount of sperm in a man's semen is usually necessary. As stated by WHO in the year 2009, if the sperm count is less than 15 million sperm per millilitre (mL), then the condition is called oligospermia.       
Oligospermia can be classified into three categories:

• Mild oligospermia, when the sperm count is between, 10 to 15 million sperm/ml.
• Moderate oligospermia is diagnosed when sperm count lies between 5 to 10 million sperm/ml.
• Severe oligospermia when the sperm count is between 0 and 5 million sperm/ml.

If you have low sperm count (or oligospermia) along with abnormal sperm motility (or asthenozoospermia), you are diagnosed with a condition called oligoasthenozoospermia.

How Common Is Oligospermia?

There is not enough data to accurately estimate the occurrence of oligospermia in the global male population. One of the reasons for this lack of data is that oligospermia often goes unnoticed till a couple tries to conceive and experience infertility.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), about 17.5% of the adult population (about 1/6 people) worldwide experience infertility. Amongst this group of people, it is estimated that males contribute to about half of the infertility cases across the globe.

What Are the Signs and Symptoms of Oligospermia?

For some men, there are no obvious signs and symptoms of oligospermia seen. Only when they find difficulty in conceiving a child, this medical condition gets diagnosed. But if a man has oligospermia due to other underlying issues like chromosomal abnormalities, hormonal imbalance or any obstruction, then certain signs and symptoms may occur. Let's look at the oligospermia symptoms as given below:

• Swelling, pain, or lump in testis.
• Sexual functioning issues like the inability to maintain an erection during sexual intercourse or erectile dysfunction.
• Low facial and body hair growth and other signs of chromosomal abnormalities and hormonal imbalances.
• Thick discharge.
• Enlarged and swollen veins in the scrotum.

If this problem happens due to transmission of a virus, then one can experience some burning sensation while urinating.

When Should You See a doctor?

If one finds any of the above-mentioned symptoms, then seeking help from a fertility expert as early as possible is the best option here. The doctor will be able to further diagnose the condition and provide the treatment accordingly.

You can consult another andrologist or a fertility specialist in case you want to get a second opinion about your diagnosis and treatment possibilities.

Oligospermia Causes

Some of the causes of oligospermia include the following:

• Hormonal imbalances: The hormones required for sperm production are produced by the hypothalamus and pituitary glands. The sperm production gets impaired if any alteration occurs in these hormones.
• Ejaculatory problems: When semen instead of flowing out of the penis, reverses back to the bladder, then it is known as retrograde ejaculation. This condition can reduce the sperm counts and cause infertility in men.
• Undescended testicles: Men born with this condition are unlikely to be fertile. If during foetal development, the testicles do not descend from the abdomen into the sac that forms the scrotum, then the fertility of that person gets hampered.
• Anti-sperm antibodies: Certain immune system cells known as anti-sperm antibodies tend to kill the sperm cells by mistakenly identifying them as harmful invaders causing low sperm count.
• Chromosomal abnormalities: Certain genetic disorders like Klinefelter's syndrome, Kallmann's syndrome and Kartagener' syndrome can cause abnormal development in the male reproductive organs.
• Obstructions: Obstruction is one of the major causes of oligospermia. The tubes that carry sperm, if blocked by some abnormal developments like cystic fibrosis or any injury due to prior surgeries and infections, can lead to a low flow of semen.
• Trauma or injury: Some surgeries like vasectomy, hernia repair surgery, scrotal surgeries, prostate surgeries, etc. can reduce the sperm count in your ejaculate.
• Certain medications: Certain medicines like anti-fungal, antibiotic, ulcer medicines, chemotherapy drugs, testosterone replacement therapy etc. can impair sperm production in one's body.
• Environmental factors: Exposure to chemicals, radiation, and heavy metals can reduce sperm production.

Risk Factors of Oligospermia

There are several risk factors associated with low sperm count; some of them are listed below:

• Unhealthy habits like smoking, consuming alcohol, and illicit use of drugs
• Being overweight
• Depression or stress in work and family life
• Being affected by certain infections in past
• Exposure to toxins and chemicals
• Testicles being exposed to extreme heat
• Trauma or injury to the testicles
• Use of certain medications
• Undescended testicles
• Having chronic illness or tumours and undergoing treatments like radiation and chemotherapy
• Genetic and chromosomal abnormalities

Oligospermia Diagnosis

Testing and diagnosis of the condition may involve the following:

• Semen analysis
• Scrotal ultrasound
• Hormone testing
• Post-ejaculation urine analysis
• Genetic tests
• Testicular biopsy
• Anti-sperm antibody tests
• Specialised sperm function tests
• Transrectal ultrasound

Can Oligospermia be Treated at Home?

Although there is no proven way of treating oligospermia at home, doing the following may help increase your chances of conception:

• Increase the Frequency of Unprotected Sexual Intercourse People with oligospermia have low sperm count, but it is possible for your partner to get pregnant if your sperms are healthy. By increasing the frequency of sexual intercourse, you may be able to increase your chances of becoming pregnant.
• Avoid the Use of Lubricants Certain lubricants and oils may hamper the movement of the sperm and prevent them from travelling through the reproductive tract. You can try and see if avoiding lubricants help increase your fertility and lead to a successful pregnancy.

Treatment of Oligospermia

The treatment of oligospermia largely depends on the cause of the condition in a particular case. There are many ways to treat this medical condition, including the following:

• Surgery If varicocele or vasectomy is the reason for oligospermia, it can be easily corrected or reversed through a surgery. During the surgery to treat varicocele, the surgeon will redirect the blood flow to another vein and close off the enlarged vein that’s causing low sperm count.
• Medication With proper medications and hormone treatments, the sperm count can be increased in some cases. If oligospermia is caused by an infection or inflammation, the doctor may recommend some antibiotics. In case the treatment doesn’t treat oligospermia, it will surely help in preventing further drops in sperm count.  
  Additionally, hormone therapies may also be advised by your doctor to treat oligospermia in case your condition is cause by the lack of certain hormones.
• Lifestyle Changes Maintaining a good and healthy lifestyle through regular exercises and avoiding smoking and alcoholism can improve the sperm count to some extent. By engaging in regular physical activity, you may be able to improve the quality and quantity of your sperm in addition to enhancing your overall well-being; this may help increase your chances of successful conception.
• Assisted Reproduction Technologies (ARTs) If nothing works, then consulting a fertility expert at a reputed fertility clinic, such as Nova IVF Fertility, will be your next best option. The doctor can provide your assistance with ARTs such as In-Vitro fertilisation (IVF). This method may include the surgical extraction of sperms form your body, which will be sued to fertilise your partner’s or a donor’s eggs.

Conclusion

Oligospermia is caused by various medical, genetic, lifestyle and environmental factors. Certain aspects are unavoidable, but there are other such known factors that can be prevented to protect one's fertility.

Leading a healthy life, keeping stress at bay, and avoiding chemical exposure are some of the effective measures to have healthy sperm production. If a person is affected by oligospermia due to any genetic and medical reason, then a proper treatment can improve their production in some cases.

Visit your nearest Nova IVF Fertility clinic to get yourself checked in case you and your partner are having trouble conceiving. You can book an appointment online through the website as well.