Does flu/covid affect sperm?

[AP86]

Hello, hope everyone is well. My question is the title really. My husband's had the flu or covid not sure, and is due to have a semen analysis to see if we can freeze any following the medication he is on. Thanks in advance x

[Allotmenteer16]

I don't have personal knowledge of this, but my clinic have said that men have to wait 3 months before providing sperm for IVF cycles following covid due to it affecting the quality. I would definitely ring your clinic to discuss it.

[Gerbear22]

Hi there.Yes in our case it did affect his sperm..We both got fertility checks before trying to conceive and his semen analysis came back with issues.Doctor asked had he been sick recently and he had a bad chest infection for weeks.Doc said to recheck in 3 months.No issues with his second semen analysis.x

[Am93]

Hi, yes it did for us too - my fiancé’s count was super low around 2-3 months after having Covid. Soon recovered though, so if it’s low I’d get it retested a few months later & I’m sure it will give a more accurate picture x

[DianeArnold Partner Nurse Fertility Network UK]

Hi AP. Anything that raises the temperature in a male can affect sperm quality. Hopefully this wouldn’t be permanent, but I would suggest to take regular paracetamol I suffering from any temperature. If an infection occurred during any illness, then an antibiotic may be required too. Diane

[Blessed5510]

omg! Yes!!!! My husband had a fever about a week to 10 days before we were supposed to fertilize our eggs. We get to the clinic and they tell us none were moving. They asked had he been sick and we were like yes. The doctor told us to come back one month later. We were so disappointed. So a month later we were back to normal and were able to fertilize our 10 eggs. 8 fertilized, we ended up with 6 , 4 normal embryos and 2 mosaics. Now we are waiting for our transfer.

Wishing you the best!

[CarlottaD27]

hello! Sorry that things haven’t gone totally to plan so far.

An alternative experience - my husband had Covid so we were encouraged to retest his semen ahead of a treatment cycle (of ovulation induction) and it all came back normal and the results were very similar to a pre-covid test. Therefore there is a chance the sample may be fine after all! Good luck x

[AP86]

Thank you all ❤️

[Christianbaby]

It's true that both the flu and COVID-19 might lead to a temporary drop in sperm quality. The reassuring part is, it's typically a short-term effect. Once you've recovered from the illness, fertility tends to return to normal. Good luck on your IVF journey! x