Any way to reduce exposure to chemicals?

[trfie]

https://www.gq.com/story/sperm-count-zero

We may be looking at the extinction of the human race. But worse, it does not seem that the companies using these chemicals care.

[BRUTE]

We may be looking at the extinction of the human race.

and this is a problem because..?

[Dream of Freedom]

We are bio-chemical organisms who eat other bio-chemical organisms and live in places made of...you guessed it, chemicals. So technically, no.

Now, to actually follow the semantics of what you are saying. Hmm. Open your windows when it is temperate. Furniture and carpet can off-gas a lot of chemicals and so indoor pollution is usually worse than outdoor. Stop using commercial shampoos, air fresheners, cleaners, etc. Eat organic.

Since the link you posted focused on fertility, I think we should talk about cell phones and wifi. It may not be good to put your phone in your front pocket next to your gonads. I put mine in airplane mode when not in use. And maybe your lap is the worst place to put a laptop.

[Peanut]

@Dream of Freedom: Because of heat or something else?

I didn't read the whole article, but it reminded me of something I read once that was really odd but I suppose could be true. The theory was that because disposable diapers regularly heat up the genitals of male babies, this may be causing lower fertility in them when they become adult males. If you are not familiar with disposable diapers, it is kind of shocking how warm they do get when babies pee in them, which of course they do several times a day. I think it has to do with the gel chemical in them absorbing the wetness. The warmness lasts about a minute or so. It seems far fetched but who knows. Most kids wear them for close to three years. Cloth diapering could make a comeback if there's ever a research finding, which would be good for the environment.

[Campitor]

Boys start producing sperm when they reach puberty. What is the science behind diapers affecting sperm which hasn't even been produced yet? Heat has been affecting gonads, human and non-human, prepubescent and postpubescent, since the dawn of gonads. Once the heat has been removed, sperm viability, after several days, returns to normal in gonad healthy adults.

Who are these men that are constantly dunking their gonads in a heat source or placing cell phones next to their testicles? All my pants pockets are designed to sit on the outer upper thigh so my phone isn't anywhere near my scrotum. And what man bakes his testicles in a laptop oven? Most men will reposition when they feel the testes getting too warm - hence the "man spreading" women detest.

And here's a nice article about scrotums and how they can actively keep your testes cool (provided your not wearing testical tourniquet-like underwear): https://blogs.scientificamerican.com/be ... like-that/

[DutchGirl]

@Dream of Freedom: Because of heat or something else?

I didn't read the whole article, but it reminded me of something I read once that was really odd but I suppose could be true. The theory was that because disposable diapers regularly heat up the genitals of male babies, this may be causing lower fertility in them when they become adult males. (...) Cloth diapering could make a comeback if there's ever a research finding, which would be good for the environment.

No, no, it would be bad for the environment. Higher fertility = more babies = more humans = bad for the environment.

[Dream of Freedom]

@peanut

Cell phone radiation. Here is a link to a study showing the effects if you are interested.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4074720/

[Campitor]

The cell phone radiation link was an interesting read. Please note that the source of radiation was placed 5cm from the sperm sample; 2 inches roughly.

"The device was located 5 cm from the samples and was turned on in radiation frequency range 900/1800 MHz (GSM standard). For authenticity of the experiment a call was carried out on the phone every 10 minutes, to imitate the transmission mode 'talk'."

I certainly don't know anyone who keeps a phone within 2 inches of their gonads and dials someone every 10 minutes while doing so. I wish the test had included a barrier that mimics bone/tissue/skin to see to what degree the radiation leaks through.

[trfie]

Boys start producing sperm when they reach puberty. What is the science behind diapers affecting sperm which hasn't even been produced yet? Heat has been affecting gonads, human and non-human, prepubescent and postpubescent, since the dawn of gonads. Once the heat has been removed, sperm viability, after several days, returns to normal in gonad healthy adults.

The article cited in-utero exposures as having a significant effect on later sperm count, so there can be effects when it has not been produced yet.

[trfie]

@peanut

Cell phone radiation. Here is a link to a study showing the effects if you are interested.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4074720/

Some interesting points from that paper:

However, according to their data, sperm motility decreased with the increased use of wireless internet (p = 0.03). Similarly, spermatozoa motility was worse in the group of wireless internet users than that of the wired internet usage group (p = 0.035) [14].

The investigators speculated that the use of a laptop computer wirelessly connected to the internet and positioned near the male reproductive organs may decrease human sperm quality [16]. Thus, exposing the semen to radio frequency electromagnetic waves from laptops connected to the internet through Wi–Fi has the same potential to damage spermatozoa as mobile phone electromagnetic radiation.

Another interesting implication of the findings of our study is that women wishing to conceive a child should be careful about laptop and mobile phones usage. The fertile life of human sperm in the female reproductive tract may be 80 hours or more. Spermatozoa can survive in the female cervix uteri and likely oviducts where they might be in danger from electromagnetic waves

Researchers found that the exposure of pregnant women to mobile phones significantly increased fetal and neonatal heart rate, and significantly decreased fetal cardiac output

Wifi networks are ubiquitous, but it seems the concern is distance to the receiving/transmitting device and not being in an area with Wifi.