9 indicators to measure the quality of semen, come to see if your sperm is okay?
In the process of pre-marriage, pre-pregnancy examination and male infertility diagnosis and treatment, routine semen examination is one of the indispensable items, which can reflect the quality of men’s semen as a whole.
Liquefaction
If the semen does not liquefy for more than one hour, it is called non-liquefaction of semen. In this case, the sperms cannot swim normally, often leading to reduced fertility.
Sperm DNA Fragmentation
The importance of DNA as a key carrier of human genetic information cannot be overstated. The integrity of the genetic material is obviously crucial for a successful pregnancy and the health of the offspring, and the degree of DNA fragmentation reflects the functionality of the sperm genetic material.
Sperm Viability
Sperm viability is the ability of sperm to move forward. Sperm must continuously swim forward in order to meet and unite with the egg, and ultimately impregnate the woman. Therefore, there is a need to focus on sperm motility. Some men with weak spermatozoa have too few sperm swimming forward in their semen and poor motility, which can seriously affect normal pregnancy preparation.
pH
Normal semen is weakly alkaline pH 7.2-8.0 to help neutralise acidic vaginal secretions. A pH less than 7 or more than 8 can affect sperm motility and metabolism, which is not conducive to conception.
Sperm morphology analysis
It is to observe the morphology of sperms after special staining of sperms. The result is often described as the proportion of normal morphology sperms and the proportion of abnormal sperms, which to a certain extent reflects the ability of sperms to fertilise the oocyte, and sperm-egg union to form a fertilised egg.
Semen volume
The volume of spermatozoa in a normal male of childbearing age is generally 2-6 ml per discharge, and the volume of spermatozoa is closely related to the frequency of spermatozoa discharge.
Sperm Density and Total Sperm Count
Sperm density, also known as sperm concentration, refers to the number of sperm contained in each 1 ml of semen, usually 15 million/ml; while the total number of sperm refers to the number of sperm in one sperm discharge, usually calculated by sperm density x semen volume, which is normally about 100 million.
Sperm survival rate
Normal sperm survival rate should be 80% to 90% 30 to 60 minutes after sperm discharge. Reduced sperm survival rate is an important cause of infertility.
Appearance
Normal semen has a homogeneous texture and is greyish or creamy white. If there is no ejaculation for a long time, the semen may be slightly yellow. The presence of red or light red semen indicates the presence of red blood cells inside the semen, consider bleeding, injuries, tumours, etc. A yellowish semen with a white blood cell index exceeding the normal reference value indicates that there are pus cells (necrotic white blood cells due to inflammation) in the semen, and conditions such as prostatitis and seminal vesiculitis are considered.
Fluctuation of test results
In fact, the results of each semen test of the patient will not be set in stone and may fluctuate, so in the process of receiving treatment, once there is an unsatisfactory semen review result, it is important to calm down and reflect on whether there are any recent unfavourable factors affecting the overall health condition of the body and the semen test. If there are, a bad result is to be expected; if not, the medication may be ineffective, and a change in treatment medication or treatment method (e.g., choosing assisted reproduction technology) may be sufficient.