"Do Cell Phones and Laptop Wi-Fi Lower Sperm Counts?"
Are men talking their reproductive health away?
There have been unexplained declines
in semen quality reported in several countries.
Might cell phones be playing a role as radio-frequency electromagnetic radiation
from these devices could potentially affect sperm development and function?
The cell phone industry bristles at the "r" word, radiation,
preferring the more innocuous sounding RF-EMFs.
They do have a point though about it being used by snake-oil hucksters
of radiation "protection" gadgets.
Radiation need not be atomic bomb gamma rays,
but just the warm glow of sunshine on your face; that's radiation, too.
The question is: does the specific type of radiation
emitted by cell phones affect male fertility?
After the World Health Organization declared
that cell phones could possibly cause brain cancer, many folks were like,
no problem, I'll just keep it in my pants and use Bluetooth or something.
Away from the brain, but close to the gonads.
Put all the studies together, including nearly 1,500 semen samples and—
Exposure to mobile phones was associated with reduced sperm motility and viability,
though not necessarily sperm concentration.
How much less could they swim?
Sperm motility only appeared to be about 8% less,
and so that alone may not actually translate into reduced fertility,
unless you're starting out with a marginal sperm count in the first place.
So especially for men who already have fertility problems,
it might be better to avoid keeping an active cell phone
next to your crotch for long periods of time.
Cell phones may just be one of a bunch of things that could potentially add up.
For example, Wi-Fi may be an issue.
So researchers got semen samples from more than a thousand guys,
and the total number of swimmers—motile sperm—
were decreased in a group who used wireless internet.
OK, but these were all just observational studies.
Maybe men who use Wi-Fi just tend to smoke more or do more horseback riding
or something and that's the reason for the apparent link.
You don't know until you put it to the test.
Unfortunately, many of the studies are like this: on rats.
So while the microwaves emitted from a cell phone
do not appear to affect rat testicles,
it can be argued that you can't necessarily extrapolate
from these animal models since, for example,
their scrotums are nonpendulous, meaning their testicles
are more inside their bodies rather than out swinging around.
So at least until proven otherwise, it's recommended
that men with fertility issues may not want to keep their cell phones
in their front pants pocket, in close proximity to their testicles.
Even when not in use, cell phones emit radiation
to keep pinging their location, though the main exposure is during talk mode,
where it may still remain in the pocket thanks to headsets these days.
And then what happens
when you have it in proximity to other common metal objects?
Here's a cross-section at crotch level.
There's the phone.
You may have a metal zipper, key ring in your pocket.
You know, when all three objects were added,
the S.A.R., the amount of radiation absorbed into the testicles,
was generally increased, even approximately doubled.
But that's only a problem if the radiation does actually damage sperm.
How hard is it to just design a study where you just wave a cell phone
over some human sperm in a Petri dish to see if it's an issue?
And...here we go.
Significantly more DNA fragmentation in sperm
exposed to cell phone radiation, starting within an hour of exposure.
Such a dramatic effect that they suggest
women might not want to pocket their cell phones for a few days
after trying to get pregnant so as to not put the sperm at further risk.
It's impossible to imagine a modern socially active man
who does not use cell phones and Wi-Fi.
Might that be harmful for male fertility?
In my last video, I talked about how the sperm of men who use Wi-Fi
tend to not be getting along as swimmingly well,
but that was an observational study.
We don't really know if Wi-Fi
actually damages sperm until you put it to the test.
The title kind of gives it all away, but basically this was the first study
to evaluate the direct impact of laptop use on human sperm.
Here's the DNA fragmentation in samples near and far away from a laptop
with an active Wi-Fi connection, suggesting one might not want to position
a Wi-Fi device near the male reproductive organs.
Yeah, Wi-Fi exposure may decrease human sperm motility
and increase sperm DNA fragmentation, but the effect is minor.
I mean, is having 10% fewer good swimmers really going to make a difference?
I mean, fertile men release hundreds of millions.
What has yet to be done is a study looking at bouncing baby endpoints:
do men randomized to a certain exposure have a tougher time having children?
It's actually a harder study to perform than one might think.
You can't just have men avoid cell phones and laptops for a day.
Yes, we make millions of new sperm a day, but they take months to mature.
The sperm with which you conceive today
started as a preconceived notion months before.
So you can imagine why such a study has yet to be done.
You'd have to randomize men
to essentially avoid wireless communications completely,
or maybe come up with some kind of Faraday cage underwear.
Another reason why one may not want to use a laptop computer on your lap
is just the heat generated by the laptop itself, Wi-Fi or not,
can warm men's scrotums, undermining the whole point
of scrotum possession in the first place.
This all dates back to a famous series of experiments back in 1968.
It was an illuminating study, one might say.
Sometimes they'd add a reflector to boost the heat, though the bulb alone
was just as effective, but they had to move it closer to the skin.
Much simpler, but more likely to result in a Jerry Lee Lewis song.
[Jerry Lee Lewis sings "Great Balls of Fire."]
But now we have nice cool fluorescents,
but heated car seats remain a testicular heat stress factor.
Saunas aren't a good idea for men trying to conceive.
Sperm counts before and after,
apparently cutting sperm production in half,
and still down 3 months later, but apparent full recovery by 6 months.
But that's why boxers not briefs, or go all commando.
Who makes money on that though?
That's why we need a scrotal cooling device industry,
though this review noted that more acceptable scrotal cooling techniques
really need to be developed.
Why?
Whatever are they referring to?
It seems the devices currently on the market are not so practical day-to-day.
There's the curved rubber collar filled with ice cubes.
Another was just like a freezer gel pack
inserted in the guys' underwear every night.
Not to worry though, it thaws in 3 to 4 hours, tops.
Holy Snowballs, Batman!
Do not, I repeat, do not put an ice pack on your scrotum.
A few frozen peas and carrots and you can frostbite yourself.
See, sometimes even vegetables can be bad for you.
Then there's the schvitzer that keeps the scrotum damp,
and finally, attached with a belt,
achievement of scrotal cooling with a continuous air stream.
With so many options to choose from,
do laptop users really need protection from scrotal hyperthermia?
You don't know until you put it to the test.
And indeed, an increase in scrotal temperature
was found in laptop computer users,
scrotal temperatures up a feverish 5 degrees Fahrenheit.
A little scrotal warmth doesn't sound that bad, though.
Then I read this case report: a previously healthy 50-year-old scientist
typing out a report one evening, sitting comfortably in his favorite chair,
laptop in lap, but woke up the next day with blisters,
penile and scrotal blisters that then broke
and developed into infected wounds that caused extensive oozing pus.
Even third-degree burns have been reported,
requiring surgical intervention with skin grafts.
The guy drank 12 units of vodka
and passed out while watching a film on his lap,
and the laptop burned through his leg.
The surgeons call for a public education campaign to educate the public
against the risks of using a laptop in its most literal sense.
Uh, how about instead educating the public
against drinking 12 units of vodka?