Infertility and The Male Reproductive System

By Michael Russell



From several reports and studies available, about a third of infertility problems are due to problems with the male reproductive tract, another third due to problems in the female reproductive system, while others are either due to a combined factor or are unexplained.



Unlike the female sex, that has a very complicated reproductive system, the male system is less complicated and most causes of male infertility can be traced to sperm disorders. Several million sperm cells is are released in the male ejaculation (semen) during sexual intercourse. However, out of these millions

deposited into the vagina, only a few hundreds will finally make the journey to the female egg and have a chance of fertilizing it. The number of sperm that make this all-important journey determines to a large extent, a man's chances of getting his partner pregnant. This is because, the more sperm cells that get to the egg, the better the chances of a successful fertilization.



There are several biological reactions that occur at the point of contact between the sperm cell and the egg. The more sperm cells that come close to the egg, the more likelihood that one of them will posses what it takes to cross the 'protective walls' around the egg. There are several factors that determine the success of the male sperm in this respect, these include;  the number of sperm cells released known as 'sperm count', the motility of the sperms, the sperm quality and the shape and size of the sperm cells.



Problemswith any of these factors may cause difficulties with

fertility.  Sperm count, i.e. the number of sperm cells released

in the semen, is a very important factor in male fertility.  A

larger amount of sperm cells is almost always a guarantee that

enough cells would make the journey to the egg and achieve the

needed fertilization. However, what seems to be even more crucial is the vitality and motility of these sperm cells.  A few virile cells reaching the egg would produce a better result than a bunch of abnormal sperm cells. Some men with a low sperm count, but high sperm quality happen to be fertile. The sense here is that, an optimal sperm count with high quality sperm cells is the key to male fertility. 



Problems with any part of the male reproductive tract generally tells on the sperm quality and sperm count. There are several health and environmental issues that affect male fertility.



Age - As with the whole body, a man's reproductive capacity reduces with age and this also affects the sperm quality. It is estimated that as from age 35, the male sperm quality may start

diminishing and this may also affect the sperm count and motility.



Lifestyle Choices - Environment and the lifestyle choices you

make can also have an impact on your fertility. Prolonged exposure to extreme heat from hot baths, steam rooms or wearing tight underwear may affect your fertility. Exposure to toxic

substances like pesticides, radioactivity or electromagnetic

emissions, especially at work may cause sperm abnormalities. It

is always advised that you consult your healthcare provider if

you are concerned about these and other occupational hazards.



The use of drugs such as those for heart diseases and high blood pressure tend to exert adverse effects on male fertility and some cancer treatments, especially when chemotherapy is involved may also contribute to infertility.



Diseases like diabetes, central nervous system problems and most sexually transmitted diseases have been shown to be bad for fertility. Untreated STDs are known to destroy parts of the male reproductive tracts through which sperm is transported.



Alcohol abuse and cigarette smoking have a negative impact on

sperm production and a number of lubricants used during sexual

intercourse, such as vagina creams, have also been shown to have negative effects on male sperm quality.



Outside these environmental and 'self imposed' factors, there are other structural and anatomical factors that may also cause sperm

disorders and fertility problems.



Erectile dysfunction is the inability to get or maintain an erection. It is the commonest anatomical cause of male infertility. Undescended testes, retrograde ejaculation and scrotal varicoele are other structural problems of the male reproductive tract that may affect fertility.



If you have any concern about your reproductive health or you seem to suffer from any of the conditions above, you should talk to your healthcare provider NOW. You stand a better chance if you seek help early enough.

How Does Fashion Influence the Lives of Students?

By Benish Rehman



    This is an era of fashion and fashion is very influential to our lives. In fact, it adds diversity to our lives by offering an aspect of enthusiasm to strive for something new and different, otherwise it would be a monotonous life if we were supposed to dress up and act in the same manner.

Fashion is an expression of a distinctive style particularly in clothing, footwear, accessories or makeup. It belongs to the style of doing something, looking different and dealing with others. It encircles a wide range of categorization like behavior, speech, actions, manners and lifestyle. There is much intellectual discussion over fashion and clothing and their importance within present day society. Fashion and clothing can be defined as many things that hold our society together. Fashion can be defined as an existing norm or style of dress, manners and way of socializing, whereas clothing is defined as garments collectively. If fashion and clothing were eliminated from our lives there would be no room for individuality and the world's population would be the same. There also would be a loss of the distinctions between social classes, which was much defined in the 18th century but is still present today. The eradication of fashion and clothing would also change the dynamics of the social world and social relationships.



Mod, short form of 'modern', refers to a youth lifestyle that came out from London during 1960s and quickly spread to other parts of the world. Being fashionable is not only desirable but also satisfying. It is very usual that the young students get attracted to fashion the most and start following the trends instantly so fashion influences our youth strongly. Fashion continually has an impact on the society. It affects our views and attitude towards social culture. We introduce new ways of lifestyle through fashion and create awareness within ourselves to reinstate a new line of customs. It is a leading social statement for students to make an outside appearance to their social circle. Malcolm Barnard says in his book Fashion as Communication, "Fashion and clothing have always been explained as forms of communication" (39). Students use fashion to exchange their feelings and beliefs. They use fashion as a way of social contact with reference to scrutiny for all sorts of people. Fashion is a way of communication to convey with the world what their personality really says.



The decade of 1920 is called the Age of Flaming Youth because of its wild and jazzy expression. In this period the energy of youth was set free in a new way and no style seemed too ridiculous to become a high fashion. Our world has globalized. Celebrities play very important role in the lives of youth. Students look up to their favorite icons to keep themselves up to date. While watching television or using internet, they can easily be attracted by a variety of fashionable concepts. Moreover, the students idealize their favorite celebrities and they always have a desire to look like them so they do their best to imitate the appearance and lifestyle of their idols. They are trying to grasp all the existing fashion from their society to enhance their personality. Whenever they socialize, they talk about new things which could be adapted. They use non-natural way of expression, speech and mannerism in their routine lives which is relatively artificial.



In my point of view, there are two categories i.e. positive and negative impact of fashion on students.



The fashion in our society has a lot of negative impact on students. They only think about new fashion and this result in spending of a large amount of money. Therefore, they are not able to become aware of other important needs of life. It always distracts them from studies. Once a style or fashion gets in a trend, it is instantly chased by student community regardless of the fact that how much hassle it leads to. On the other hand they are caught in the confusion of fashion due to impact of society. To follow a certain fashion, one has to adopt some actions and to do so some students go beyond their limits just to attract their surroundings. Eventually they become hopeless instead of being ingenious and suffered from depression for being within fashion. On the other hand, it is also a thought that the money spending on Fashion could be spent for various other purposes like charity and helping the poor.



Fashion creates an inaccessible standard for students. They all want to be attractive and glamorous like the celebrities on television or in magazines hence they spend a lot of time and money just to build up a good impression on people around them. However, they fail to make a statement most of the time that leads to a low self esteem. It also creates a clash of thoughts between them and their friends that may lead to jealousy factor and as a result ruin their relationship with friends. Students start judging people by their outlook appearance and those who cannot spend sufficient amount on their outward look, eventually become persecuted which decreased their confidence level to certain extent.



Students who give more concentration to fashion are generally least conscious about their studies. They think that by adopting certain fashion trends, they will achieve certain distinction among the peers therefore they start giving less importance to their academic careers.



There are some positive points of being fashionable as well. For instance, when teenagers feel good because of the way they look, it gives a high sense of worth and confidence in their personalities. Moreover they feel more independent and acceptable in a social context. If students follow a certain trend, it facilitates them to recognize their own personalities by meeting different people from the society with the same interests and sense of style. Wearing trendy clothes shows a person's status. People assume a person more progressive if he is wearing fashionable clothes. Malcolm Barnard says in his book Fashion as Communication, "Fashion and clothing have always been explained as forms of communication"



Students eventually come to know that it's not good for them to follow or imitate others all the time. Instead, they should learn how to be innovative and make their own sense of style. That helps them to be more strong, independent and imaginative. Fashion is the name of expressing oneself.It proves that the people have liberty to feel comfortable about themselves and that results in a more successful and prosperous society.



Fashion is a form of art and because art is beneficial to society so same goes for fashion as well.Fashion is a big reason for companies to invest more into the expansion of latest clothing, trends, and better living. We cannot disagree with the fact that fashion has a significant place on the life of every student. At times, it can be the source of things that make the life more pleasant. On the other hand, it can be destructive for the lives of certain people. So it's better to keep yourself modernized with fashion but if it is damaging your academic performance by any mean, you should keep yourself away from that. Generally, fashion can be entertaining, exciting and harmless. Fashion is a money making method that can provide employment to thousands of people.



There should be stability in the lives of students while pursuing fashion. They should be aware of the fact that the fashion within limits is admirable but when the limits are crossed, they have to face many problems. Their prime responsibility is to fill up themselves with the asset of knowledge instead of running after the wildness of deceptive fashion world. There should be a right balance between being fashionable and getting away from our roots. Students should know the fact that they have maximum time to indulge themselves to the world of lavishness after they completed their studies.So they should give their utmost devotion to education presently for time and tide waits for none.



Being trendy and fashionable is just our own wish, no one can force us to do it and it's our own decision that how much and what type of fashion we prefer according to place and requirement. Though this time of 21st century in Pakistan mostly people are affected by glamorous world and style of fashion but still they have not forgotten our traditions and culture which is the priority and symbol of our country.