Post Date April, 15 2023
Epididymitis is a common disease among young and middle-aged men. When the body's resistance declines, some pathogenic bacteria such as Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus, Streptococcus, etc. will take the opportunity to enter the vas deferens retrogradely and invade the epididymis, causing inflammation, causing great inconvenience to the normal life of patients. Moreover, epididymitis can also lead to serious consequences of male infertility.
Infertility caused by epididymitis and sperm killing
Epididymitis can cause severe and multifaceted damage to sperm. So how does epididymitis actually damage sperm?
The first move: cutting off the supply of sperm
If the epididymis unfortunately infected with pathogenic microorganisms, inflammation occurs, causing congestion and edema in the lumen, and its ability to raise sperm naturally decreases, even in a state of inactivity. The various nutrients secreted by the epididymis for sperm will be significantly reduced, resulting in a significant decrease in the various abilities that sperm should acquire in the epididymis, ultimately leading to a significant increase in the rate of inactive or dead sperm in the semen. Even sperm that can move are weakened in their ability to move, leading to asthenospermia or necrospermia.
Second move: Reduce sperm motility
After the epididymis is infected by pathogens, some pathogens (such as Escherichia coli) can directly damage the sperm in the epididymis tube, inhibit the activity of sperm or make spermatogenesis agglutinate to reduce its mobility; Some pathogens (such as Mycoplasma and Chlamydia) attach to the surface of sperm, reducing or even losing their motility. The toxins produced by pathogens can also poison fragile sperm, greatly increasing their mortality rate. At the same time, body guards such as white blood cells and macrophages may accidentally injure or kill sperm, regardless of whether they are good or bad, when eliminating pathogens. The large amount of metabolites produced by inflammatory reactions can also poison sperm or alter their living environment, leading to decreased sperm motility, an increase in dead sperm, an increase in abnormal sperm rate, and a decrease in sperm count.
The third trick: blocking the walking pathway of sperm
If epididymitis is caused by Neisseria gonorrhoeae, Mycobacterium tuberculosis and other pathogens, it will not only cause inflammatory reaction to damage sperm, but also easily cause narrowing or blocking of the lumen of epididymis, leading to incomplete near epididymis or completeness obstruction of vas deferens. This is an irreversible sequela of epididymitis, where sperm are blocked in the epididymal duct and cannot escape. They can only slowly become trapped or allowed to be slaughtered, resulting in obstructive oligozoospermia or azoospermia.
Fourth move: Draw a trap on the ground and trap sperm
Epididymitis is also an important cause of the formation of anti sperm antibodies in men. After the formation of anti sperm antibodies, they are mixed in the semen, closely following the sperm, or surrounding them in clusters, or simply firmly adhering to the surface of the sperm, leaving no place for the sperm to hide. In this way, the motility of sperm significantly decreases, or several or dozens of them aggregate into clusters, affecting the forward movement of sperm. At the same time, antibodies can also enter the bloodstream and have a wider range of adverse effects on the function of the reproductive organs. If the immune response caused by anti sperm antibodies acts on testicular tissue, it can form a special destructive effect, causing abnormal spermatogenic function of the testicles and leading to azoospermia caused by spermatogenic disorders.
It can be seen that epididymitis causes severe and multifaceted damage to sperm. The main pathogens causing epididymitis in sexually active patients, or patients with unclean life history and multiple sexual partners are gonococcus, Chlamydia trachomatis and ureaplasma urealyticum, or epididymitis secondary to gonococcal urethritis and nongonococcal urethritis. Children and older patients are mostly caused by common pathogens such as Escherichia coli, Proteus, Staphylococcus and so on. In addition, infectious diseases of other systems of the body can also be transmitted into the epididymis through the blood circulation to cause infection.
To avoid the damage of epididymitis to sperm and maintain reproductive health for a long time, the most effective measures are to eliminate unclean sexual behavior, avoid unprotected sexual behavior, and pay attention to the cleanliness and hygiene of the external reproductive organs. If inflammation of the urinary and reproductive organs such as urethritis, cystitis, prostatitis, seminal vesiculitis occurs, timely and effective treatment should be given to avoid involving the epididymis. Once epididymitis occurs, it is necessary to actively seek the help of specialized doctors, make a clear diagnosis as soon as possible, and receive early and effective treatment.
