“Doctor I am really fed up with this issue !! What I have done wrong with any one so that I am being punished this way by God ?? I really don’t feel like living any more….., Doc I am feeling guilty when I come in front of my wife. Why she should suffer! Being a lady she must be waiting to become a mother , but…….! All our relatives are taunting her, but she do not respond any one, although she knows that she is not at fault, in fact I am the one who has the problem! Doc I have low sperm count with low motility too!! We have tried almost everything, including IUI, IVF, Ayurvedic, Homeopathic, Naturopathic, Magnetotherapy, Acupuncture, everything doc, but nothing worked out! We heard from one of our friend that you have treated number of such cases with good success, so we have come here with a great hopes !! Doc will it be possible to increase the count?….”

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Ramesh was asking me a question with his wife. I told him that we shall work on his case but before starting of the treatment he need to understand his problem in holistic way. There is a need to understand what exactly do we mean by Oligospermia or rather what could be the consequences of being Oligospermic case? Ultimately it has got linkage with the male infertility. A male with low sperm count i.e. oligospermia can not father a pregnancy. But although it has been said repeatedly I have seen in my own practice that with proper Ayurvedic therapeutic management we can really overcome this problem to a great extent. I don’t want to have tall claims that for every case it will work, but yes in most of the cases it has showed an encouraging results.

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In one of the article by one of the leading Infertility specialist there was a statement that – “Many infertile men are obsessed about their low sperm count - and this seems to become the central concern in their lives. Remember that the real question the man with a fertility problem is asking is not: What is my sperm count or what is my motility? But - are my sperm capable of working or not? Can I have a baby with my sperm? Since the function of the sperm is to fertilize the egg, the only direct way of answering this question is by actually doing IVF for test fertilization. This is, of course, too expensive and impractical for most people.

The major problem with all these tests, however, is that they are all indirect --- there is no very good correlation between test results, pregnancy rates, and fertilization in vitro for the individual patient. This is why offering a prognosis for the individual patient based on an abnormality in the sperm test result is so difficult, and why we find that different doctors give such widely varying interpretations based on the same sperm report”

But let me tell you I have seen rather treated number of such cases those who have opted for modern methods alone, underwent treatment modalities like IVF, ICSI (intracytoplasmic sperm injection, pronounced "ICSI") or microinjection etc. but with no results !! I think in such conditions it will be wise to think in completely different perspective with the view of Ayurvedic philosophy & treat these cases. I do agree that in some of the cases the sperm count is too minimal, so in such condition if we can increase a count as well their motility with Ayurvedic Therapy & then shift these cases to Modern Medical Infertility consultants then it will be really of sense! Because that might save time, money & may increase chances of results as well! I have tried with this way & seen better results in certain cases who had No results alone with modern methods.

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Now let us see what exactly we need to know in connection with Oligospermia. We need to know the following terms –Infertility & its causes, Male Infertility, Azoospermia , Oligospermia, Asthenozoospermia , Impotency.

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If we observe that a in a married couple , if a female do not conceive even after one & half to two years after marriage, provided they are not adopting any special measures for contraception ( avoidance of pregnancy) then they can think of going to a doctor for such a condition initially to explore the cause for it .

According to some data in almost 30% of cases there is a problem with Male partner in the form of either Low sperm count ( Oligospermia), or No sperm count (Azoospermia ) or Normal count with low or no motility of sperms so that they can’t swim & reach to the ovum for getting fertilization process leading to the event of pregnancy (Asthenozoospermia) or with normal count & motility of sperms ,but inability to have sexual act , may be due to penile erection problem or low or no urge ( Impotency)

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In next 30% cases do have problem with the female partner. May be with ovulation problems or structural deformity of the uterus etc.

In next 30 % group there is a problem in both the partners.

In last 10 % group there is nothing wrong that can be observed in either of them & yet they don’t conceive.

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Coming back to our topic of discussion, if we see the data on Male Infertilty as seen in medical Journals & on web , we understand the socio psycho economic aspect of this problem. The references arte as follows –

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Society issues for Male infertility ?????????

Hospitalization statistics for Male infertility: The following are statistics from various sources about hospitalizations and Male infertility:

  • 0.005% (597) of hospital consultant episodes were for male infertility in England 2002-03 (Hospital Episode Statistics, Department of Health, England, 2002-03)
  • 99% of hospital consultant episodes for male infertility required hospital admission in England 2002-03 (Hospital Episode Statistics, Department of Health, England, 2002-03)
  • 100% of hospital consultant episodes for male infertility were for men in England 2002-03 (Hospital Episode Statistics, Department of Health, England, 2002-03)
  • 1% of hospital consultant episodes for male infertility required emergency hospital admission in England 2002-03 (Hospital Episode Statistics, Department of Health, England, 2002-03)
  • 1.1 days was the mean length of stay in hospitals for male infertility in England 2002-03 (Hospital Episode Statistics, Department of Health, England, 2002-03)
  • 1 days was the median length of stay in hospitals for male infertility in England 2002-03 (Hospital Episode Statistics, Department of Health, England, 2002-03)
  • 38 was the mean age of patients hospitalised for male infertility in England 2002-03 (Hospital Episode Statistics, Department of Health, England, 2002-03)
  • 83% of hospital consultant episodes for male infertility occurred in 15-59 year olds in England 2002-03 (Hospital Episode Statistics, Department of Health, England, 2002-03)
  • 2% of hospital consultant episodes for male infertility occurred in people over 75 in England 2002-03 (Hospital Episode Statistics, Department of Health, England, 2002-03)
  • 69% of hospital consultant episodes for male infertility were single day episodes in England 2002-03 (Hospital Episode Statistics, Department of Health, England, 2002-03)
  • 0.0004% (192) of hospital bed days were for male infertility in England 2002-03 (Hospital Episode Statistics, Department of Health, England, 2002-03)

Incidence (annual) of Male infertility: at least 2 million annual cases (based on NWHIC)
Incidence Rate: approx 1 in 136 or 0.74% or 2 million people in USA

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Azoospermia & Oligospermia

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Now let us see what do we mean by Azoospermia & Oligospermia

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What is Azoospermia? ????
??Brief description: Total lack of sperm in ejaculate

Causes of Azoospermia

Underlying condition causes of Azoospermia: The list of possible underlying conditions mentioned in various sources as possible causes of Azoospermia includes:

  • High fever - causing temporary lack of sperm
  • Undescended testicle
  • Testicle conditions (type of Male sexual conditions)
  • Obstructions of seminal passages
  • Testicle infection
  • Certain hormonal disorders (type of Endocrine disorders)