WebMD Blogs
Icon

Men's Health Office

Men's health is a growing field. Dr. Sheldon Marks shares advice and information on men's health issues, from prostate problems to hair loss, as well as fitness and nutrition.

background

WebMD Health News

Tuesday, April 18, 2006

Boxers or Briefs?
AddThis Social Bookmark Button

When infertility is an issue, couples start looking for every possibility, down to a man's choice of underwear and the temperature of their showers.

Underwear choice does not impact on sperm counts and motility for most men. Hot showers do damage sperm present in the system. We see this as reduced sperm numbers and motility. I tell all my patients to avoid heat "down there".

The reason a man's testicles are outside his body in the scrotum is to keep them several degrees cooler than his core body temperature. Trying to boil the testicles is not a good thing for fertility. This means no hot showers, hot saunas, jacuzzis or hot baths.

The damage he does today reduces his counts for 74 days-the time it takes to make fresh, healthy sperm. So even an occasional hot shower is enough to keep his numbers down. I suggest that he check at least one and possibly two to three complete semen analysis after three days of abstinence. Each should be 4 to 6 weeks apart at the least.

Related Topics: Testicular Cancer and Infertility Link, Tips to Help Improve Your Chance of Conceiving

Posted by: Dr. Marks at 1:56 PM

20 Comments:

Anonymous Anonymous said...

If heat is so bad for pregancy, why do the Japanese (before birth control) have large families? The family soaks in very hot water every night after taking a bath. Wouldn't this have lowered the population of Japan, yet families routinely had 6 to 8 kids.

2:19 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Wow, that is a very interesting fact. So, Yeah Why??

3:15 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

They have so many kids because they choose to, not because they're sperm is any better than others.

4:40 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Maybe they just worked at it more frequently ? Or had a naturally higher sperm count to begin with.

5:47 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Interesting facts but I believe that leading a low stress life( hot baths helps destress the body)and a healthy (more natural food) diet like the Japanese do,helps the bodily system to grow stronger cells,thus,stronger sperms.It is the same for most rural folks in other countries as well.Of course having children is also a choice that people made.

7:31 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Surprisingly,with America's great advancement in medicine,many of the view points posted by some so call experts are only half truths.The simple reason is because our bodily parts do not function on its own but function as a whole.Therefore many of the comments does not cover the real issue in a more holistic view.Unless it is seen as a whole,some of the comments can infact confuse some readers.In this case of not being able to conceive ,we could not highlight the blame on what we wear.People have been wearing this things for ages and see the world population?

7:41 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Large families? The average number of children per family is less than 1 and Japan is experiencing a national crisis because of the declining birthrate. No idea if this has to do with "hot baths" but couples are visiting fertility clinics in droves trying to have a baby.

9:08 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

The reason the Japanese have such large families is because of ancient Chee Magic, Kung Fu, and Super Hadoken Kama Sutra sexual techniques. Therein lies the answer.

2:57 AM  
Blogger Dr. Charles said...

just spent 45 minutes in the hot tub last night. I think of it as back up birth control with muscle relaxation benefits :)

I'm moving websites so the link to my blog will be broken soon - who should I get in contact with to change that link? Send me an email doctorcharles [at] gmail [dot] com if you get a chance. I'll get my links up on the new site to you later today.

thanks so much, keep up the excellent blog.

2:32 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I used to wear boxers long time ago. But boxers limit my leg movement. My balls ache after walking all day because they hang too long before I sit down. My penis is constantly popping out of place and if I get an erection in public its hard to hide if you are hung like me. The one and only purpose of boxers is that it stay very cool down there. That is good if you are trying to get your wife pregnant. I can't have kids anyway so the hell with boxers. I love briefs anyway because I can move more freely and everything stays in place reguardless of what activity I am doing plus the ladies love it

7:47 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Does anyone know if the sperm myth is true? Male sperm swims faster but dies off quicker. Female sperm swim slower but live longer.

8:21 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Shooting for a boy this time any tips?

8:22 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

The sperm myth about how the boy sperm are faster but die sooner true story... A couple tip to have a boy baby
1.Make sure u start trying at the very begining of your wives ovulation cycle the egg is further up and gives the boys a fighting chance to get to it first
2. Make sure you dump your boys as close to the cervix opening as u can (deep penetration)
3. It is also a rumor it helps if your wife actually reaches a orgasm while you have sex

2:13 PM  
Anonymous minimouse said...

could early ejaculation be a reson to infertility

2:06 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

In response to the Japan thing, I think it's something in the water personally...The last 3 times of been there over the past 4 years, I've come home and boom, my wife got pregnant within 2 months. We never changed anything, it was always unprotected and no birth control, but no lie, i got back beginning of November and we just found out last week that we are having our 3rd

11:47 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

to the guy that said it must be in the water in japan.because every time you come home from japan your wife gets pregnant.Either it`s the water,she`s happy because she hasn`t seen you in a long time,or they aren`t yours.

12:47 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

About Orgasm...
It's a scientific fact that when women have an orgasm their acidity/PH balance changes inside and female sperm dies from it but male sperm survives.

(Source: College biology class)

12:58 PM  
Anonymous Bri said...

I don't know who told you this, but females only have an egg NOT sperm. Males have the sperm, get it right, whoever you're bio teacher/lecturer was had no idea what they were talking about or you fell asleep.

8:05 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I believe the male/female sperm comments refer to the sperm creating the different sexes in the baby- NOT where it comes from

11:06 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Bri. You should prob scroll up before commenting?

5:33 PM  

Post a Comment

background