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A plain-English guide to reading a SwimScore report as a set: what your semen analysis, DNA Fragmentation Index, and hormone panel each measure, which numbers deserve the most weight, and what the common patterns point to next.
An at-home sperm test device and a lab semen analysis are not the same thing. Here is what the research says about home devices, about collecting a sample at home, and about how much even labs disagree, and what each option can and cannot tell you.
The WHO 6th Edition manual is the yardstick behind almost every semen analysis report. Here is where its thresholds came from, what changed in 2021, and why the WHO itself says a result below the line does not diagnose infertility.
Sperm counts can swing by roughly half their value from one sample to the next in the same man. Here is what drives that variation, how many tests you need, and how to plan testing so you can trust the numbers.
Some supplements improve sperm motility in small trials, but the largest analysis of 50 randomized trials found no effect of any supplement on pregnancy or live birth. Here is what the evidence shows for CoQ10, carnitine, zinc and folate, omega-3s, selenium, alpha-lipoic acid, and ashwagandha, and why testing comes first.
ICSI solves one problem very well, but in couples with normal or mildly affected sperm, the best randomized trials have not shown it produces more babies than conventional IVF. Here is what each procedure is, who needs which, and where male fertility testing fits.
A Y-chromosome microdeletion is a missing piece of the Y chromosome that can mean no sperm or very low counts. Which region is missing, AZFa, AZFb, or AZFc, decides the odds of sperm retrieval and what it means for IVF and for sons. Here is what the research shows and where it is thinner than it looks.
Klinefelter syndrome usually means no sperm in the ejaculate, but it does not always mean no biological children. Here is what the best studies show on sperm retrieval, ICSI, and what to ask a urologist.
A dry or very low-volume orgasm has a name, identifiable causes, and real options for men who want children. Here is what the research shows about retrograde ejaculation, how it is tested, and where the evidence is thin.
Oligozoospermia, asthenozoospermia, and teratozoospermia are three labels for three ways a semen sample can fall below a reference number. Here is what each one means, how the WHO 6th Edition defines the cutoffs, and what the research says about how little the label alone predicts.
Azoospermia means no sperm were found in the ejaculate, but the cause decides the odds. A blockage and a production problem in the testes lead to very different paths. Here is what the research shows on sperm retrieval, ICSI, and genetics, and where the evidence is thinner than clinic pages suggest.
High sperm DNA fragmentation has a short list of well-supported causes, and a set of cutoffs that are less settled than the color-coded bands suggest. Here is what the research says drives the number, which popular culprits show no clear effect, and how to read your own result.
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