Post Date December, 03 2023
According to experts, men are less likely to take medication indiscriminately because the medication can penetrate the blood-testis barrier and enter the testes, interfering with sperm formation, leading to male infertility. So, what are the harmful drugs that cause male infertility?
Various sex hormone drugs, such as androgens and clomiphene, can affect the endocrine function of the human body and are often used by doctors to treat endocrine diseases. However, these drugs are double-edged swords, and when used properly, they can help with fertility; Improper use can inhibit sperm development. When expectant fathers use estrogen and progesterone drugs, it may also lead to a decrease in sexual pleasure, rapid decline or even disappearance of sexual desire, thereby affecting ejaculation function.
Moreover, glucocorticoids such as prednisone and dexamethasone, if used in large quantities for a long time, can also reduce the sexual function of expectant fathers and harm the health of sperm.
Diuretics such as spironolactone have anti androgenic effects, and if used for a long time, it can reduce sexual function and harm sperm. Furthermore, dihydroxyurea can also reduce sexual function; Furosemide (furosemide, furanilic acid) and butyric acid (butylphenoxy acid, budesonide) can induce hypokalemia, and sometimes erectile dysfunction may occur. However, the situation can be improved by supplementing with potassium salt.
Antihypertensive drugs such as reserpine, which is used to treat hypertension, can affect the sexual function of most male patients even in small doses, and even cause inability to ejaculate. Some can also induce depression, making the existing sexual dysfunction and low libido more severe. Therefore, expectant fathers should not choose reserpine. Guanethidine is also easy to lead to penis erection, delayed ejaculation, or even inability to ejaculate.
Cardiovascular drugs, such as commonly used methyldopa, hydralazine (hydralazine), megamine, prazosin, clonidine for glaucoma and hypertension, and digitalis, digoxin, and heart strengthening for coronary heart disease, will lead to the decline of male sexual function. The treatment of arrhythmia with propranolol (propranolol, propranolol) can easily lead to side effects such as decreased libido and erectile dysfunction when the dosage is slightly increased.
Chinese herbal medicine: Most Chinese herbal medicines are natural plants with minimal side effects. However, for Dad, Chinese herbal medicine is not absolute insurance. For example, Tripterygium wilfordii has a significant killing effect on sperm. In addition, expectant fathers in cotton producing areas should pay special attention to not eating cottonseed oil, or they will miss the birth plan.
Immunomodulators such as cyclophosphamide, nitrogen mustard, cisplatin, and other drugs have strong toxic effects and can directly disrupt the synthesis of sperm DNA, including changes in genetic material composition, chromosomal abnormalities, and sperm abnormalities. Like male infertility, women suffer from habitual miscarriage (early embryo loss), partly due to the damage to male sperm.
These drugs can also be excreted into the vagina through sexual activity with the semen produced by the testes, absorbed by the vaginal mucosa, and enter the bloodstream, increasing the incidence of low birth weight and deformed fetuses, and increasing the mortality rate of perinatal fetuses.
Among the commonly used drugs, the anesthetics morphine and the immune modulator cyclophosphamide can increase the incidence of low birth weight and deformed fetuses through the aforementioned pathways, and increase the chances of perinatal neonatal death. In addition, metronidazole, erythromycin, ampicillin, pentyloxymethyl ester, thiamphenicol, amphetamine, and diphenylhydantoin can all enter semen and affect fetal development.
There are also some drugs that can reduce the quality of sperm, including changes in genetic material composition, chromosomal abnormalities, and sperm abnormalities, which may lead to a decrease in conception quality and affect the development of offspring. Drugs such as methylbenzylhydrazine hydrochloride, mitomycin C, and triamine triazine all have this effect.
