Article 57: Symptoms, Examination, and Traditional Chinese and Western Medicine Treatment of Oligospermia

◇A Guide to Caring for Your Husband's Health as a Good Wife◇

Next chapter: CHANG JIAN BING DE ZHI LIAO YU TIAO YANG

Treatment and recuperation of common diseases

What are the symptoms?

1. The amount of semen ejaculated during each sexual intercourse is less than 1.5 ml.

2. Those caused by congenital factors are often accompanied by oligospermia or azoospermia, while those caused by acquired factors are often accompanied by low sperm quality.

3. Physical examination revealed testicular and seminal vesicle hypoplasia, and inflammation of the prostate and seminal vesicles.

What tests should be done?

Laboratory tests showed that the total semen volume of each ejaculation was less than 1.5 ml in three consecutive tests. Routine semen analysis revealed low sperm density, a sperm count below 0.6 billion/ml, and the presence of dead or abnormal sperm. Furthermore, most sperm showed decreased motility.

How to differentiate it from oligospermia

Both oligospermia and this disease can lead to infertility, but oligospermia is mainly characterized by low sperm density, while the total amount of semen in a single ejaculation may be normal; this disease is mainly characterized by a reduced total amount of semen in each ejaculation, and there may not always be sperm abnormalities, but both can occur simultaneously in clinical practice.

How does Western medicine treat this?

1. General treatment: Vitamin E 100-200 mg three times a day, orally; Vitamin C 100-200 mg three times a day, orally.

2. Drug treatment:

(1) For patients with obvious inflammation, ofloxacin can be used, 200 mg each time, twice a day, orally; or compound sulfamethoxazole, 2 tablets each time, twice a day, orally.

(2) For those with testicular hypoplasia, methyltestosterone 100 mg twice a day can be taken orally; or gonadotropin 75-150 units can be injected intramuscularly every other day.

3. Surgical treatment: For those with obstruction or incomplete obstruction of the vas deferens as determined by imaging, vas deferens reconstruction surgery can be performed.

How does Traditional Chinese Medicine differentiate syndromes and treat diseases?

1. Kidney Yin Deficiency Type: Symptoms include low semen volume, soreness and weakness of the lower back and knees, dizziness and tinnitus, seminal emission and premature ejaculation, or accompanied by priapism, dry mouth and throat, five-center heat, red tongue with little coating, and thready and rapid pulse.

Treatment principle: Nourish kidney yin.

Prescription: 20g Rehmannia glutinosa, 12g Cornus officinalis, 15g Dioscorea opposita, 12g Lycium barbarum, 15g Cuscuta chinensis, 10g tortoise shell glue (melted), 10g Achyranthes bidentata, 10g Anemarrhena asphodeloides, 10g Phellodendron chinense.

2. Kidney Yang Deficiency Type: Symptoms include clear and cold semen, low volume, infertility after marriage, decreased libido, impotence and premature ejaculation, cold pain in the lower back and knees, lethargy, pale complexion, clear and copious urine, loose stools, pale tongue with white coating, and deep, thready, and slow pulse.

Treatment principle: Warm the kidneys and tonify Yang.

Prescription: 10g Rehmannia glutinosa, 15g Dioscorea opposita, 12g Cornus officinalis, 12g Lycium barbarum, 15g Cuscuta chinensis, 10g Deer antler glue (melted), 12g Eucommia ulmoides, 10g Angelica sinensis, 5g Cinnamomum cassia, 6g Aconitum carmichaelii (decocted first).

3. Qi and Blood Deficiency Type: Symptoms include low semen volume and thin quality, infertility after marriage, sallow complexion, fatigue, dizziness, palpitations, shortness of breath, poor appetite, loose stools, pale tongue with white coating, and weak pulse.

Treatment principle: Tonify Qi and nourish blood, replenish essence and marrow.

Prescription: Astragalus membranaceus 20g, Codonopsis pilosula 15g, Angelica sinensis 15g, Rehmannia glutinosa 15g, Paeonia lactiflora 12g, Ligusticum chuanxiong 6g, Atractylodes macrocephala 10g, Poria cocos 10g, Lycium barbarum 12g, Cuscuta chinensis 15g, Cervi cornu colla (melted) 10g, Glycyrrhiza uralensis 6g.

4. Blood stasis obstruction type: Symptoms include low semen volume, or difficulty in ejaculation, obstruction of the seminal duct, testicular or lower abdominal pain, dark purple tongue or ecchymosis, and choppy pulse.

Treatment principle: Promote blood circulation, remove blood stasis, unblock the meridians, and promote sperm production.

Prescription: Angelica sinensis 15g, Paeonia lactiflora 15g, Ligusticum chuanxiong 10g, Corydalis yanhusuo 10g, Trogopterus xanthipes 15g, Typha orientalis (wrapped) 20g, Cinnamomum cassia 5g, Foeniculum vulgare 10g, Commiphora myrrha 10g, Liquidambar formosana 20g, Cuscuta chinensis 20g, Lycium barbarum 20g.

5. Damp-heat accumulation type: Symptoms include infertility after marriage, low semen volume, burning sensation during ejaculation, bitter and sticky taste in the mouth, discomfort in the lower abdomen and perineum, dark yellow urine, red tongue with yellow and greasy coating, and slippery and rapid pulse.

Treatment principle: Clear heat and dampness.

Prescription: Dioscorea hypoglauca 30g, Phellodendron chinense 20g, Atractylodes lancea 15g, Acorus tatarinowii 10g, Poria cocos 20g, Achyranthes bidentata 15g, Plantago asiatica (wrapped) 15g, Alisma plantago-aquatica 10g, Anemarrhena asphodeloides 15g, Salvia miltiorrhiza 20g.

Traditional Chinese medicine prescriptions for treating low semen volume

1. Take an appropriate amount of leek seeds, stir-fry them until cooked, grind them into powder, and take 3 grams each time, twice a day, orally.

2. Take 10g of Psoralea corylifolia, 30g of Cuscuta chinensis, 10g of Morinda officinalis, 10g of Atractylodes macrocephala, 10g of Epimedium brevicornu, and 10g of Cistanche deserticola. Decocted in water and taken once a day.

3. Prepared Polygonum multiflorum 15g, Allium tuberosum seed 12g, Angelica sinensis 12g, Rehmannia glutinosa 12g, Rubus idaeus 12g, Epimedium brevicornu 12g, Achyranthes bidentata 12g, Cuscuta chinensis 10g, decoct in water and take one dose daily.

4. 30g of Epimedium, 15g of Plantago seed, 10g of Alisma, 6g of Akebia stem, 10g of Luffa sponge, and 15g of Poria cocos. Decocted in water and taken once a day.

5. Take 50 grams of deer antler glue, 50 grams of fresh placenta, 100 grams of leek seeds, and 100 grams of Cistanche deserticola. Grind them into a fine powder. Take 10 grams each time, twice a day.