Sometimes it is difficult to analyze the cause of infertility. Only a few people know that prescription drugs, recreational drugs, tobacco, smoking, alcoholism, etc can seriously affect your fertility factor. Such things directly harm your reproductive system. Many times you do not realize that the drugs which you are in taking, especially those containing steroids can affect your fertility, and this happens in the case of both males and females. According to recent researches, the use of drugs is the root cause of unexplained infertility in many cases.
It may be shocking for you that in many cases even prescribed drugs can become a cause of infertility, though this is temporary infertility. So in case you are trying to conceive, then you must talk to your doctor about the same regarding the medicines that have been prescribed to you. High blood pressure medicines, shots of steroids, anti-depression medications, and other such drugs fall into the category of drugs that can risk your fertility.
Some of the risk factors of such drugs are listed below.
- Loss of Libido
- Decrease in sperm count
- Erectile dysfunction
- Irregular menstrual cycle
Alcohol
Male and female fertility have a starling effect by the consumption of alcohol. This is generally caused by heavy consumption of alcohol. Intake of six or more glasses of alcohol every day can cause problems like hormonal misbalance, ovulation disorders, lowered count of sperm, etc. Unfortunately, it is still to be discovered as to how light or moderate drinking habits affect the fertility of a person. However, scientists argue that light or moderate drinking habits can lead to the death of some cells in the testicles that produce sperms. This leads to damaged sperm morphology. Women who have similar drinking habits may face problems like hormonal misbalance seriously affecting the hormone secretion necessary for reproduction.
Men with heavy drinking habits generally face problems like:
- Deprived sperm morphology
- Deprived motility of sperm
- Lowered count of sperm
Women with heavy drinking habits generally face problems like:
- Defects in the luteal phase
- Amenorrhea
- Anovulation
Tobacco
Almost everybody is aware of the side effects of tobacco consumption during pregnancy however very few are aware of the fact that consumption of tobacco is not bad only during pregnancy but it can adversely affect your chances of becoming pregnant. A number of fertility problems, both in men as well women, arise from the bad habits of tobacco chewing and cigarette smoking. While in the case of men, tobacco chewing and cigarette smoking can cause severe problems like lowered sperm count and poor sperm motility. In the case of women, it causes problems like abnormalities of chromosomes or ovarian reserve. It also increases the chances of stillbirth and miscarriages during pregnancy.
Related: How smoking kills the pregnancy
Drugs
Street drugs such as heroin, cocaine, ecstasy, etc all have adverse effects on the fertility factor of both males and females. If you intake such drugs for a long time then you may fall prey to permanent infertility problems because it causes severe problems in the reproductive system making the glands ineffective and deprival of necessary hormones.
Those men who take drugs for a long time typically face problems like:
- Reduction in libido
- Lowered count of sperm
- Change in the shape and size of sperm
While in the case of women, problems that typically arise are:
- Dysfunction of ovaries
- Irregular menstrual cycle
- Reduction in ovarian reserve
- Decrease in sexual desire