What is the difference between impotence and infertility?

There is an important distinction between male impotence and male infertility. Impotence refers to the ability to achieve and maintain an erection, and infertility addresses the ability to achieve a pregnancy. Impotence, or erectile dysfunction, is an issue or a condition that is often seen in men who have and have had cancer. Oftentimes cancer will lead to a change in your hormones. It can cause a drop in testosterone, and that drop in testosterone may not only affect the ability to achieve and maintain an erection, but it may also affect the libido. These two things together can certainly have a negative effect on fertility.

Infertility, due to a lower sperm count and fewer sperm with normal movement patterns, can also arise due to cancer or cancer treatment, but this is different from impotence, or erectile dysfunction.

If you and your doctor are able to distinguish specifically what you're going through, there are a number of solutions for impotence and infertility. One simple thing to do is make lifestyle changes that can help optimize your fertility. There are also procedures that can assist men with low sperm count.