7th October, 2011
Dr. Esele Samuel, a medical practitioner at the National Hospital, Abuja has said that exposure to excess heat has adverse effects on sperm count.
Samuel told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja on Friday that people should also be careful in wearing tight underwear, saying it raises scrotal temperature thereby reducing the rate of sperm production.
“Tight under-wears such as briefs, overheat the scrotum (testes cover) which increases the temperature of the testicles, thus lowering the volume of healthy sperm available for impregnation, ” he stated.
He explained that heat damages sperm count, motility and sperm movement as well as inhibit production, advising people to use loose fitting under wears, to allow air to circulate round their testicles.
He said that people working in heat conditions like welders and drivers, were more vulnerable to low sperm counts and permanent infertility, noting, however, that regular bathing helps to bring the testicular temperatures down.
Samuel also identified the intake of drugs by diabetic patients, recurrent urinary tract infection, stress, nutritional deficiencies, obesity, self-medication and smoking among the risk factors for low sperm count and erectile dysfunction.
The medical practitioner said the problem could be treated with the intake of nutritional supplements, vitamins and minerals as well as maintaining a high protein, low-fat diet, rich in vegetables and whole grains and timing of intercourse.