What’s killing your sperm?

More than 90% of male infertility cases are due to low sperm counts, poor sperm quality, or both. Naturally, men who want to conceive with their partners become very wary of what causes a low sperm count, but with all the myths and superstitions, just what are the things that really cause this problem?

An infographic recently released by Superdrug lists down the top causes of low sperm count. If you’re ready and want to conceive (okay, and if you don’t want to conceive), read through this checklist:

1. Tight pants or underwear

If the testes become too hot caused by extremely tight pants or undies, you could get testicular hypothermia. Skip the skinny jeans for a while. If you wear tight bottoms for 120 consecutive days, by Day 20 you’ll decrease the number of sperms and by Day 34, you might completely obliterate them. Not to worry, though, they’ll be back in 73 days.

2. Weight

Maintain a healthy weight and lifestyle since overweight and obese men have considerably lower sperm counts than men who fall under the normal BMI.  However, don’t go being all happy about it if you fall under the underweight category since underweight men have 8.6% less semen volume–less liquid for the little soldiers to swim in.

3. Products made with BPA

Bisphenol A (BPA) is a chemical used in plastics to make them more pliable and less brittle. High levels of BPA may actually reduce sperm motility and function. So be careful of the plastic you use for your drinks.

4. Products made with PFC

PFCs (perfluorochemicals) are commonly found in non-stick pans and many other household items. Be careful in cooking with these as you might be cooking your normal, healthy sperm as well.

5. Sunscreen

You may be protected from the sun’s harmful rays, but the chemicals in some sunscreens aren’t so good for sperm production. Chemicals found in sunscreen can reduce sperm count by 33%. The best solution to this is just avoid going out into the sun altogether (since the heat kills the sperm, too). Cool weather is actually much better for sperm quality, which explains why conceptions tend to peak in the colder seasons.

6. Drinking and smoking

This might be a big DUH. Aside from all the the harmful effects alcohol and nicotine can bring to the rest of your body, they also decrease sperm counts and concentration.

7. Marijuana

It won’t matter how “natural” people say marijuana is–smoking pot may actually inhibit sperm function.

8. Abstinence

The common misconception is that men can “save up” their sperm so that when they have contact with their partners, their chances of conceiving are way higher. Studies actually show that abstaining from doing the deed for 11 to 14 days reduce the numbers of motile and normal sperm. In other words, if you’re planning to conceive, just keep going at it.

9. Mobile phones

You phone has radiation which can kill your sperm when you keep it in your pocket (naturally near your crotch). Heat and electromagnetic radiation from these gadgets an reduce sperm motility by 8.1% and viability by 9.1%.

While this list may make you overload on info and overthink while you’re trying to conceive, the most important thing is to still just relax and let things happen as they’ll happen. Of course, it will never hurt to be a little more aware but keep your cool. Life finds a way.

Banner photo from gazettereview.com.