Infertility and Sterility

　　There are many causes of infertility and infertility. In order to help patients better understand the disease, the common causes are summarized as follows:

　　1. Chromosomal abnormalities: Commonly include male pseudohermaphroditism, Klinefelter syndrome, and XYY syndrome.

　　2. Endocrine diseases: The cause is a lack of gonadotropin. Common conditions include selective hypogonadotropic hypogonadism, also known as Kallmann syndrome, selective LH deficiency and FSH deficiency, adrenal cortical hyperplasia, hyperprolactinemia, and so on.

　　3. Common reproductive tract infections: In recent years, with the increasing incidence of sexually transmitted diseases, the incidence and severity of reproductive tract inflammation such as prostatitis, epididymitis, orchitis, and urethritis have increased, which seriously affects male fertility.

　　4. Obstruction of the seminal duct: Affecting the transport of sperm.

　　5. Abnormal spermatogenic function of the testis: Commonly seen in cryptorchidism, varicocele, toxins, magnetic fields, high temperatures, and trauma, etc., which can cause spermatogenic disorders in the testis.

　　6. Abnormal sperm structure and seminal plasma: Affecting sperm motility, capacitation, and acrosome reaction.

　　7. Immunological infertility: Both the male body's own anti-sperm immunity and the female body's anti-sperm alloimmunity can cause male infertility.

　　8. Male sexual dysfunction: Erectile dysfunction, premature ejaculation, anejaculation, and retrograde ejaculation can all cause male infertility.

　　Infertility and infertility can cause great harm to the family. Originally harmonious and happy families can be destroyed due to the lack of children, causing dissatisfaction among parents and complaints between couples, which puts great pressure on the physical and mental health of infertility patients. Infertility patients may become irritable due to endocrine disorders, which immediately casts a shadow over the whole family, causing both partners to be deeply depressed. Therefore, infertility and infertility patients should seek early and active treatment to restore health as soon as possible.

　　Infertility and infertility include male infertility and female infertility, and the common symptoms of each are as follows:

　　First, symptoms of female infertility and infertility

　　1. Dysmenorrhea: The occurrence of dysmenorrhea is generally caused by certain diseases, such as endometriosis, uterine malformation, pelvic inflammatory disease, uterine fibroids, and abnormal uterine position. At the same time, these diseases are also common causes of female infertility.

　　2. Menstrual irregularity: Menstrual irregularity is manifested as: changes in menstrual cycle; menstrual periods that are early or delayed; excessive or insufficient menstrual blood volume; prolonged menstrual periods. The occurrence of these phenomena in women may indicate diseases in the body, and the external symptoms of luteal insufficiency and endometritis are menstrual disorders.

　　3. Abnormal vaginal discharge: Increased vaginal discharge, unpleasant odor, or discharge resembling curd or water are all manifestations of abnormal vaginal discharge. Diseases such as vaginitis, cervical erosion, adnexitis, pelvic inflammatory disease, and endometritis can lead to abnormal vaginal discharge in women, which can also affect pregnancy to varying degrees.

　　4. Amenorrhea: No menstrual period has occurred by the age of 18; or the menstrual period has stopped consecutively for more than 6 months after it has started. Infertility caused by amenorrhea is not uncommon.

　　5. Galactorrhea symptoms: Galactorrhea refers to the spontaneous leakage of milk in women who are not breastfeeding. This may indicate a problem with the hypothalamus, which can lead to changes in the regulation of sex hormones and endocrine. Common diseases include: hypothalamic dysfunction, pituitary tumor, prolactinoma, primary hypothyroidism, chronic renal failure, etc. Galactorrhea often occurs with amenorrhea, leading to infertility.

　　6. Abdominal pain: Chronic lower abdominal pain, bilateral abdominal hidden pain, or lumbar sacral pain, pelvic inflammatory disease, endometritis, ovarian inflammation, endometriosis, and tumors of the uterus and ovaries may cause abdominal pain. This is highly likely to lead to infertility and sterility.

　　7. Other symptoms: Some women may experience symptoms such as breast swelling, diarrhea during menstruation, edema, fever, facial acne, mood depression, and irritability before and after menstruation. These symptoms often occur due to endocrine disorders or incomplete luteal function.

　　Second, male infertility and sterility symptoms

　　1. Impotence: Inability to achieve or maintain an erection, or insufficient rigidity, leading to inability to have normal sexual intercourse, which can directly lead to infertility and sterility.

　　2. Ejaculatory pain: Painful urination is a common symptom of male infertility.

　　3. Varicocele: The local temperature of the testicle in patients with varicocele increases, affecting the spermatogenic function of the testicle. However, the degree of varicocele is not proportional to the quality of sperm.

　　4. Blood semen: It refers to semen that is pink-red or mixed with blood. Blood semen indicates that there is inflammation in men, which can lead to infertility and sterility.

　　5. Cryptorchidism: Cryptorchidism is one of the important reasons affecting the quality of semen, about 60% of patients with unilateral cryptorchidism are infertile.

　　6. Low semen volume: Normal semen volume less than 20 million sperm per milliliter can reduce the number of sperm, reducing the chance of conception.

　　7. Other symptoms: Pruritus and discomfort of the reproductive organs are often caused by reproductive organ infections and chronic infections of accessory reproductive glands, which can affect various laboratory indicators in semen and lead to infertility.

　　The prevention of infertility and sterility needs to be carried out separately from both men and women. The following is a specific introduction to the preventive measures for infertility and sterility.

　　First, women

　　1. Good living habits: Maintain a comfortable mood, have a balanced diet, pay attention to the combination of work and rest, choose appropriate exercise projects according to physical condition, such as walking, jogging, dancing, etc., to enhance physical fitness. Abstain from excessive drinking and smoking, and pay attention to menstrual hygiene.

　　2. Pay attention to pre-marital examination to detect congenital malformations or physiological abnormalities of the reproductive system in advance.

　　3. Avoid premature sexual activity and moderate sexual activity to avoid exhausting the essence and Yin. Pay attention to infections after childbirth or post-abortion.

　　4. To grasp the ovulation period, having sexual intercourse during the ovulation period (including the time of ovulation and the one or two days before and after) can increase the chance of conception. Ovulation usually occurs around the 14th day before the next menstrual period. If the menstrual cycle is 28 days, ovulation occurs exactly in the middle of two menstrual periods. For women with irregular menstrual cycles, it is best to monitor the basal body temperature for more than 3 months to find their own ovulation period. (The basal body temperature is lower before ovulation, between 36.4-36.6℃, and rises by 0.3-0.5℃ after ovulation until the menstrual period starts. It is also possible to use LH test strips to detect the time of ovulation.)

　　Second, male

　　1. You should keep up with vaccinations, develop good personal hygiene habits, and prevent various infectious diseases that can harm male fertility, such as mumps, sexually transmitted diseases, etc.

　　2. You should master certain sexual knowledge, understand the male physiological characteristics and health knowledge. If you find that the testicle has changes different from usual, such as swelling, hardening, unevenness, pain, etc., you must seek timely medical treatment.

　　3. If you often come into contact with radioactive substances, high temperatures, and toxic substances, you must strictly follow the operational regulations and protective regulations. Never be negligent and careless. If you want to have a child in the near future, it is best to discontinue such work for half a year before giving birth.

　　4. The testicle is a very delicate organ, its optimal working temperature is about 1 degree lower than human body temperature. If the temperature is high, it will affect sperm production, so any factor that can raise the temperature of the testicle should be avoided, such as long-term cycling, taking hot baths, wearing jeans, etc.

　　5. Change bad habits, quit smoking and drinking; do not eat too greasy things, otherwise it will affect your libido; in addition, you should also pay attention to avoid contact with toxic items in daily life, such as clothes taken from dry cleaning stores should be placed for a few days before wearing them, because dry cleaning agents can affect male sexual function.

　　6. Pay attention to premarital physical examination, early detection of abnormalities can avoid post-marital suffering. After marriage, it is important to frequently communicate with your wife about the problems encountered in sexual life, cooperate with each other, and understand each other, so many spiritual impotence or premature ejaculation can be avoided.

　　7. Change bad habits, strengthen physical fitness, patients should quit smoking, quit drinking, avoid spicy foods, develop a regular lifestyle, strengthen nutrition, and engage in moderate physical exercise.

　　The occurrence of infertility is related to both men and women, so the examination also needs to be carried out for both men and women individually.

　　First, female examination

　　1. Hysterosalpingography: For women with no inflammatory diseases in the reproductive tract, during the 3-7 days after the menstrual period, contrast medium is injected into the uterus under B-ultrasound to observe the filling of the uterus and fallopian tubes with contrast medium.

　　2. Hysteroscopy: The application of hysteroscopy can understand the situation inside the uterine cavity, and can find lesions such as uterine adhesions, submucosal fibroids, polyps, and uterine malformations that may cause infertility. Treatment can also be performed under the direct observation of the hysteroscope during the examination.

　　3. Laparoscopic examination: To further understand the pelvic situation, laparoscopic examination can be used. Laparoscopic examination can directly observe whether the uterus, fallopian tubes, and ovaries have any lesions or adhesions, and determine whether the fallopian tubes are unobstructed; about 20% of patients can find lesions that were not diagnosed before surgery through laparoscopy.

　　4. Immunological examination: This method can understand whether there are anti-sperm antibodies, in addition to anti-sperm antibody testing, it can also carry out post-coital tests, in vitro sperm penetration tests, and other tests to understand them.

　　5. Endocrine function testing: For example, measuring serum estrogen and progesterone levels at different times during the menstrual cycle to understand ovarian function; measuring the basal metabolic rate to understand thyroid function; conducting adrenal function tests and serum prolactin measurements, and so on.

　　Secondly, male examination

　　1. Medical history examination: This mainly involves checking whether the patient has had any reproductive system diseases in the past. In addition, it is also necessary to check the patient's family history of genetic diseases to see if there is a family history of genetic diseases.

　　2. Sexual function examination: This mainly involves checking whether males have normal sexual function, including normal libido, erection, intercourse, climax, and ejaculation. Whether there are any problems during these processes.

　　3. Testicular examination: This mainly involves checking whether the testicles function normally, whether they can normally secrete hormones and produce sperm. Abnormalities in the testicles can have a significant impact on male fertility.

　　4. Vas deferens examination: Check whether the male's vas deferens is unobstructed and whether there are symptoms of obstruction or blockage. If there is a phenomenon of obstruction, it is necessary to undergo a treatment for unblocking.

　　5. Sperm examination: Sperm examination is a crucial part of male infertility screening. Sperm is the most important reproductive cell in males, containing all reproductive information. If sperm is abnormal, not only will the reproductive information be affected, but it will also lead to its inability to combine with eggs, resulting in infertility. Generally, sperm not only needs to be healthy but also needs to have the ability to move straight forward strongly. Common sperm abnormalities include oligospermia, asthenospermia, hematospermia, azoospermia, and so on.

　　6. Physical examination: This mainly involves checking the male's health status, including the presence of other diseases, etc. It provides an overall assessment of male fertility and can also offer some suggestions for better preparation before conception.

　　Infertility is closely related to diet. Consuming the following foods in moderation can help increase sperm count and improve sperm activity.

　　1. Animal internal organs:Animal internal organs contain a lot of cholesterol, which is an important raw material for the synthesis of sex hormones. They also contain about 10% of adrenal cortical hormones and sex hormones, which can promote the division and maturation of germ cells. Therefore, consuming moderate amounts of animal internal organs such as liver, kidneys, intestines, stomach, and heart is beneficial to increasing the secretion of androgens in the body, increasing sperm count, and promoting reproductive function.

　　2. Foods rich in arginine:Arginine is a necessary component for sperm formation, and foods containing it include eels, catfish, loaches, sea cucumbers, squids, octopuses, silkworm larvae, chicken, frozen tofu, seaweed, and green peas. These foods are helpful in the formation and improvement of sperm quality.

　　3. Prefer to consume zinc-rich foods:Zinc is an essential trace element for the human body, playing an important role in maintaining the normal structure and function of the male reproductive system. Foods rich in zinc include oysters, beef, chicken, liver, egg yolks, peanuts, pork, and so on.

　　4. Increase intake of calcium-rich foods:Calcium ions can stimulate sperm maturation and improve male reproductive ability. Foods such as shrimp shells, salted eggs, dairy products, egg yolks, soybeans, kelp, and sesame paste contain a lot of calcium.

　　1. Treatment methods for fallopian tube obstructive infertility

　　The treatment of fallopian tube obstructive infertility requires comprehensive symptomatic treatment according to the specific condition of the patient. Because the physiological function of the fallopian tube:

　　1. Collection of the egg.

　　2. Transport of the egg.

　　3. Transport and activation of sperm.

      All these functions must rely on the ciliary activity of the fallopian tube mucosa, the peristalsis and segmental contraction within the fallopian tube. Sperm entering the vagina must pass through many barriers to achieve conception.

　　There are many methods to treat blocked fallopian tubes, such as: fallopian tube irrigation, gas, intrauterine injection of medication, oral medication, acupuncture, and external treatment. For severe adhesions, 'fallopiantube adhesion release surgery,' 'fallopiantube anastomosis surgery,' and 'fallopiantube ostomy surgery' must be performed. By the way, it should be mentioned that do not rely solely on the method of 'irrigation' for treatment, as repeated irrigation can worsen hydrosalpinx, uterine hypertrophy, fallopian tube formation of water sacs, causing functional disorder of fallopian tubes, and making infertility more complex. Moreover, because patients who undergo fallopian tube irrigation suffer a lot, it is easy to cause false blockage in patients sensitive to pain.

　　According to relevant data, about 1/3 of infertility patients are caused by blocked fallopian tubes. The fallopian tubes are one of the main components of the female reproductive system, which has physiological functions such as transporting sperm, egg, and fertilized egg, providing sperm storage, activation, acrosomal reaction, and fertilization site. If the fallopian tubes are blocked, infertility will inevitably result.

　　How can the fallopian tubes become blocked? The most common cause is fallopian tube infection. Especially after artificial abortion, delivery, or surgery, inflammatory infections, urinary system inflammatory infections, sexual intercourse during the menstrual period, endometriosis, and severe appendicitis may affect the fallopian tubes, causing blockage, adhesion, and effusion, leading to blocked fallopian tubes. In addition, congenital malformations, underdeveloped fallopian tubes, twisting, dysfunction, and polyps can all cause fallopian tube blockage.

　　2. Traditional Chinese medicine treatment for female infertility

　　With a long history of thousands of years, traditional Chinese medicine has less toxic and side effects, and conception can occur during the period of medication. 'Conception must be preceded by regulating menstruation,' Chinese medicine regulates the conception vessel, promotes ovulation, opens the fallopian tubes, and effectively treats endocrine disorders such as endometriosis, with low cost and healthy infants.

　　Traditional Chinese medicine holds that infertility in women is rooted in kidney deficiency, or due to inherent deficiency, insufficient endowment; or due to carelessness in sexual matters, causing kidney essence damage; or due to prolonged illness and multiple childbirths, damaging the kidneys. The spleen is the root of postnatal life and the source of essence and blood generation. Deficiency in the spleen leads to a lack of source for generation and can cause infertility. Women consider the liver to be the root of nature, as the liver stores blood and governs the dispersal of Qi. Liver depression and Qi stagnation can also lead to infertility in women. In terms of treatment, one should calm the five internal organs, regulate Qi and blood, adjust menstruation and conception, and pregnancy will result.

　　1. Cold uterus and kidney deficiency.

　　Traditional Chinese medicine believes that women belong to the Yin, and the uterus is prone to cold. With internal cold and deficiency of kidney Qi and kidney essence, there will be irregular menstruation and inability to conceive.

　　2. Liver Qi Stagnation and Spleen Dampness.

　　If emotional distress occurs, liver Qi stagnation, spleen deficiency and internal dampness, then blood vessels lose smoothness, Qi and blood are not harmonious, phlegm and dampness accumulate in stasis, menstrual irregularity, leading to infertility.

　　3. Qi Stasis and Blood Stasis.

　　Women are based on blood, with smoothness in Qi, blood and Qi depend on each other and influence each other. Disharmony of Qi and blood, Qi stasis and blood stasis, lead to various diseases, and infertility is thus formed.

　　Third, Western Medicine Treatment

　　1. 3D Fertility Microenvironment Therapy.

　　The 3D Fertility Microenvironment Therapy is based on various factors such as physical characteristics, pathogenic characteristics, and psychological stress, finds the cause of infertility from the root, and repairs the human microenvironment. This technology integrates all rehabilitation systems, absorbs the essence of traditional Chinese medicine and advanced Western treatment technology, and has become the most powerful, most comprehensive in technical coverage, and the most perfect integration of traditional Chinese and Western medicine in the field of infertility and sterility medicine. It is a comprehensive, multi-dimensional, green rehabilitation system.

　　2. Gynecological laparoscopy technology.

　　Gynecological laparoscopy technology is an advanced gynecological diagnostic and therapeutic technique with a wide range of applications in infertility. The German KARL-STORZ gynecological (abdominal) laparoscopic equipment consists of the endoscope, cold light source, video image detection system, camera system, pneumoperitoneum machine, high-frequency surgical system, coagulation system, and flushing absorption system, which is a high-tech diagnostic and therapeutic equipment in contemporary gynecological diagnosis and treatment and reproductive medicine. At present, our hospital has widely applied this cutting-edge equipment in the diagnosis and treatment of infertility and has achieved good results.

　　Uterine infertility accounts for 30% of female infertility. Common causes include endometritis, uterine adhesion, uterine malformation, uterine leiomyoma, and endometrial polyps. Since hysteroscopy can directly observe various lesions in the uterine cavity through the endoscope and image monitoring system, determine the location of the lesion, it has high application value for the diagnosis of diseases and abnormalities in the uterine cavity.

　　3. American COOK catheter interventional technology.

　　A catheter with a 0.038mm platinum wire is inserted through the vagina into the opening of the uterus. Under the direct vision of a television monitor and hysteroscope, the doctor uses local interventional techniques to unblock the fallopian tubes and place drugs to prevent adhesion, performing transcervical fallopian tube catheter recanalization without anesthesia or surgery.