source

Soaking in the tub may reduce men's fertility, say US researchers.
Findings from a three-year study support current advice that men should avoid 'overheating' their sperm.

Sperm counts in five of 11 men with fertility problems soared by 491% after they stopped having baths or using the hot tub for a few months.
Other research has shown heat from laptop use and wearing tight underwear can reduce fertility the Journal of the Brazilian Society of Urology reports.

The researchers from the University of California, San Francisco, said although it had been believed for decades that 'wet heat' could damage fertility, there had been very little research.
Men attending a fertility clinic who were exposed to more than 30 minutes per week of 'wet heat' through hot baths, Jacuzzis or hot tubs, were recruited to the study.

After three to six months of staying out of the bath, just under half the men showed dramatic five-fold improvement in sperm count.
Sperm motility increased from 12% to 34% in the men who responded to cutting out baths.

Five of the six men who showed no improvement were chronic smokers, which the researchers said could have influenced the lack of response.

Showering is OK then? :-)

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The UCSF urologist, Paul Turek, says there's 'a centuries-old practice in Japan of barring childless men from conducting business deals in hot tubs'. You have been warned! The danger seems to be the heat shock factor (HSF).



I'm glad to report for our collective wellbeing that the University of California Davis School of Veterinary Science is contributing to the body of research on this topic:

' EXPERIMENTAL HEAT STRESS IN BULLS

Twelve Hereford bulls, 2 to 6 years old, were divided into three equal
groups: control and scrotal insulation for 24 or 72 hours. Insulation raised
the mean scrotal skin temperature approximately 30 F.
In both treated groups number of live sperm decreased to approximately
65% of the controls in the second and third weeks after insulation; normal
sperm dropped to approximately 60% of the controls in the same period. Live
sperm and normal sperm returned to control levels by the sixth week after
insulation. Sperm motility decreased during the period of increased abnormal
and dead sperm. Sperm concentration decreased significantly during the fourth
through seventh weeks after insulation in the 72-hour group; a slight
depression was noted in the 24-hour group during the same period.

Abstr from JW Austin, et al, Effect of Scrotal Insulation on Semen of
Hereford Bulls. J. Animal Sci., 20:307-310, 1961.'

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Jord, you must be in despair at the tragic lack of response to your concern for members' health and well-being. Homo boinciens insapiens could become an endangered species, and who would care except you and me?

If you started a thread about the cooling of members' CPUs, the topic might elicit more interest....

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I'd better go check my conkers....

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Remember...Always look on the bright side of life.