How to check if a woman has positive anti-sperm antibodies

As we know, there are quite a lot of people suffering from infertility nowadays. And infertility is not just a man's problem, it's also a woman's problem. Moreover, for men and women, due to illness, both parties may test positive for anti-sperm antibodies. How to obtain the positive index of anti-sperm antibodies? How to diagnose? So let’s take a look together below.

Examination of the male partner (pay attention to whether he has a history of chronic diseases such as tuberculosis and mumps, etc.), understanding of living habits and whether he has difficulty in sexual intercourse, examination of external genitalia for deformities, examination of semen for abnormalities. Normal semen volume is 2-6 ml, pH 7.5-7.8, liquefaction time does not exceed 30 minutes, sperm count is more than 60 million per ml, motility is more than 60%, and abnormal sperm does not exceed 15-20%. If the sperm count is less than 60 million, fertility is poor, and further immune and chromosome tests can be performed if conditions permit.

In addition to a detailed medical history and a full body examination, the following examinations should be performed on the woman.

1. Gynecological examination to understand whether there is inflammation, tumor or deformity in the development of internal and external genitalia, and to check whether there is galactorrhea.

2. Check the acidity and alkalinity of vaginal discharge and related inflammation and sexually transmitted diseases, including trichomoniasis, candida, gonorrhea and chlamydia.

3. Fallopian tube permeability test or hysterosalpingography.

4. Ovarian function test.

a. Measure basal body temperature for three consecutive months to understand the pattern of ovulation and corpus luteum function.

b. Examination of cervical mucus crystals: During ovulation, the cervical mucus becomes thinner, making it easier for sperm to penetrate. Typical fern-like crystals appear on the smear and gradually decrease or disappear. Therefore, the changes in cervical mucus crystals during the menstrual cycle can help diagnose the presence or absence of ovulation and changes in ovarian function.

c. Vaginal cytology examination and smear test of hormone levels should be started after the menstruation is over and performed every other day until the next menstruation.

d. Endometrial pathological examination to understand the presence of ovulation and corpus luteum function.

e. Endocrine tests: Patients suspected of having pituitary, thyroid or adrenal diseases can have their pituitary gonadotropin, 17-ketoacid, 17-hydroxyestrogen, progesterone, oxytocin, etc. measured. The post-coital test is best performed two hours after ovulation. Use two sterilized straws to respectively aspirate the cervical mucus and the fluid from the posterior fornix of the vagina and place them on two glass slides for microscopic examination. If both have active sperm, it is normal. If both have no sperm, it means that the male is azoospermic. If there are sperm in the posterior fornix smear but no sperm in the cervical smear, it means that the female's cervical mucus is abnormal.

Positive anti-sperm antibodies mean that you need to persist. Moreover, in men, there are often symptoms of varying degrees of decreased sperm quality. At the same time, patients often have decreased sperm motility, and even further examinations reveal that the motility rate is not up to standard. There are often even a large number of abnormal sperm, which require active treatment.