Impotence and infertility: are they the same? what is the relationship?

Sexual impotence does not always lead to infertility, because while impotence is the inability or difficulty in having or maintaining a pleasurable sexual relationship, infertility is a person's difficulty in reproducing and having biological children.

Thus, being impotent is not the same as being infertile, because man, despite having difficulty maintaining an erection, can have normal and regularized sperm production. However, as is known, for a pregnancy to occur it is necessary to transfer sperm to the woman's body, which is why many couples suffering from sexual impotence end up also suffering from the difficulty of becoming pregnant.

However, even in the presence of sexual impotence, there are other techniques that can allow pregnancy, through the implantation of sperm in women, as in artificial insemination. Although this technique only allows for pregnancy and does not cure impotence, it can be used during treatment if the couple is looking to become pregnant.

1. How to know if it is impotence

Main Symptoms

Some of the symptoms that can indicate impotence include:

• Difficulty to have or maintain an erection Greater need for concentration and time to get an erection; Difficulty in maintaining intimate contact in some sexual positions, less rigid or more flaccid erection, rapid or premature ejaculation; Decreased body hair and the number of spontaneous erections upon waking.

In addition, a decrease in the size of the sexual organ or physical changes in the genital organ can also cause difficulty in maintaining an erection.

Main causes

Sexual impotence is caused by all those factors that affect the penis' ability to maintain an erection of the penis that allows intimate contact and include:

• Drug use; Alcoholism; Obesity; Excessive use of certain medications such as antihypertensives, antidepressants and antipsychotics for example; Psychological problems such as depression, trauma, fear, dissatisfaction or decreased libido.

All of these factors end up affecting a man's sexual performance, who may or may not have infertility problems.

Watch the following video and see the tips of a physiotherapist and sexologist, who explains erectile dysfunction and teaches how to exercise to prevent and improve the problem:

2. How to know if it is infertility

In the case of infertility, the symptoms are not physical and therefore in most cases the man is able to maintain normal and constant sexual intercourse and the only way to find out is through exams such as the sperm, for example.

Main causes

As with sexual impotence, infertility can also be caused by several factors, which may include:

• Low testosterone production; High production of the hormone prolactin; Thyroid disorders; Infections in the reproductive system, especially infections that affect the testicles such as orchitis (/ mumps-and-infertility /); Varicocele, which is the increase in the blood vessels of the testicles; Use of anabolic steroids or drugs that may cause infertility; Conducting invasive therapies such as radiation therapy; Tumors in the pituitary gland; Genetic problems that affect sperm production; Problems that affect ejaculation, such as no ejaculation or retrograde ejaculation.

What to do to get pregnant

To get pregnant, there are several tips that can help such as:

• Having sex during the fertile period, which can be calculated using our fertile period calculator. See How to know when the fertile period is. Eat more foods rich in vitamin E and zinc, such as wheat germ, nuts and nuts, as they act on sex hormones to improve male and female fertility; Invest in a healthy and varied diet and physical exercise; Avoid the practice of habits that impair fertility, such as consumption and alcoholic beverages, smoking cigarettes or taking drugs.

However, if you have had sex for more than 1 year and do not use contraceptive methods such as condoms or birth control pills, you should seek medical help so that the cause of the difficulty can be identified. In cases of difficulty, some of the treatments that may be indicated by the doctor include ovulation induction or