Recent studies have confirmed a decades-old superstition: The use of hot tubs poses a significant threat to male fertility. UC San Francisco urology professor Paul J. Turek, the director of the UC San Francisco Male Reproductive Health Center, led a pilot study that proved that immersion in high-temperature water contributes to male infertility by detrimentally impacting sperm quality and production.
Until the results of the study were published, the use of hot tubs was superstitiously categorized as a cause of infertiltity, along with drinking Mountain Dew, using laptops and wearing tight underwear. Although the latter three have yet to be proven, Turek’s work shows that hot tubs’ fertility effects are in fact valid.
“”Men are coming into my office daily complaining about their infertility while still using hot tubs and Jacuzzis,”” Turek said. “”I constantly have to stop them.””
To research the validity of the link between hot tubs and infertility, Turek began a three-year study, which subjected 11 infertile men to regular immersions in high-temperature water for at least 30 minutes per week for three months. Turek found that once men gave up the hot tub baths for three to four months, the degenerative effects on their semen were reversible in nearly half of study participants.
“”We observed that when we started pulling men out of hot tubs, the semen quality rebounded incredibly and their sperm count increased by 491 percent,”” Turek said.
It is still unknown why high water temperature makes such a catastrophic difference to male’s reproductive organs. The only relative explanation, Turek said, is that the male’s genitalia are extremely sensitive and reliant on temperature. The scrotum is cooler than the rest of a male’s body by about two to three degrees.
“”I believe the scrotum is an immunologic sanctuary and it needs that separate temperature to function,”” Turek said. “”Sperm are foreign and they have to protect it in some way such as temperature. A hot bath, a Jacuzzi or a fever will hurt that balance. Even if you don’t believe it, men are biologically complex. You may think guys only want to go to bed, but there are many issues and confounders that complicate the process.””
In accordance with his comparison of the male scrotum to a sanctuary, Turek advised men to “”treat your body like a temple”” to maintain fertility. He also suggested that men “”eat well, sleep well and take good care of [themselves].””
“”I don’t know any surfers who are infertile in Southern California, but it would be a huge issue if cold water was a problem to male fertility, considering that the ocean water is currently 50 degrees,”” Turek said.
Turek advised men to abstain from wet heat exposure for at least six months before trying to conceive.
