Since school biology days I've known that balls are designed the way they are to keep them cooler than the rest of the body, but I've just read an article that there's a big link between high temperatures and a reduction in quality/quantity of sperm - and the suggestion that men trying to conceive would benefit from ICING THEIR BALLS!?
From the article (on the wonderfully title dontcookyourballs.com):
"One of the first studies to explore the effects of temperature on sperm quality took a group of men with normal sperm counts and exposed them to heat from a 150-watt light bulb for 30 minutes which raised scrotal temperature by about 5 degrees Fahrenheit for 14 consecutive days. Sperm counts dropped. 12 days later the sperm counts returned to normal. They then iced their balls for 30 minutes for 14 consecutive days, lowering scrotal temperature about 12 degrees. Sperm counts nearly tripled ."
"Reviewing multiple studies, it appears that dramatic improvements occurred in at least 50% of the patients. In most cases, sperm count showed the most marked improvement with up to a doubling or tripling of baseline in many patients. "
You can even get special pants that have a pocket in the front to fit an icepack - so that the guy can have a gentle cooling experience throughout the day while going about his normal activities?!
Am I the only person TTC who isn't getting their DH to ice their balls at regular intervals? Like, people talk about LH levels and supplements, and then in the background are like "Oh yeah, ball-icing, of course! That goes without saying?!" Or is this a new thing?!
Have sent DH the link and he's not against trying it, be something easy to do while we watch TV at night?!