Is semen affected by antibiotics, viruses or bacteria?
Question
Is semen affected by antibiotics, viruses, or bacteria? I’m scheduled for a semen analysis in a couple days and am curious.
Answer
Last Updated: June 26, 2013
1) I suspect that some antibiotics that concentrate well in the prostate tissue will exit in the seminal fluid. That would include such medications as trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole, quinolones, and carbenicillin. However, they will not alter the semen analysis.
2) Infectious agents such as bacteria and viruses may interfere with sperm motility, but it is difficult to diagnose their presence. The bacteria may be seen, viruses won’t be. Either one may create an inflammatory response and stimulate inflammatory cells to be present. So if the semen analysis reports white blood cells present one may suspect the presence of a “bug” by this indirect evidence…BUT you do not have to have an infection to have white blood cells present. Sometimes stress and/or caffeine use may cause prostatic inflammation and cause white blood cells to appear in the prostate fluid.
Dr. Polito
2) Infectious agents such as bacteria and viruses may interfere with sperm motility, but it is difficult to diagnose their presence. The bacteria may be seen, viruses won’t be. Either one may create an inflammatory response and stimulate inflammatory cells to be present. So if the semen analysis reports white blood cells present one may suspect the presence of a “bug” by this indirect evidence…BUT you do not have to have an infection to have white blood cells present. Sometimes stress and/or caffeine use may cause prostatic inflammation and cause white blood cells to appear in the prostate fluid.
Dr. Polito
Answered By:
Gregory Polito, MD
Gregory Polito,MD, KM, Past President of CANFP, retired from a urologic practice, with a sub-specialty in vasectomy reversal
