Could Male Infertility be a sign of HIV infection or other STD?

[needtobesure]

Doc,

I just found out I may have male infertility, I am a 30 year old male, my test came back with the following:
Volume: High
PH: Normal
Motility: Low
Concentration: Low
Normal Morphology %: Low

I don't smoke and have been generally healthy I have had a few chronic issues the last two years that have me spooked about STDs/HIV and now that we are going to be getting further screening at a reproductive center I am getting really scared again.

My chronic issues are:
1) Dandruff, always on the crown of my head, derm has been unable to get it to abate.
2) Dry Eyes, by end of day I am tearing/stinging pain in eyes
3) Folliculitis, primarily on my back/shoulders (always 1-2 large red bumps with big white heads at all times) and if I am out in the sun too long I get prickly heat rash pretty quickly (never had this happen before but it is often now).

Most of these issues started 6mo-1yr after I thought I caught something and have continued for the last 1-1.5 years (I have just learned to live with them at this point), it is 2+ years since my last risk factor.  I have only tested for Hep C (and all other STDs) once and that was ~30 days after I was nervous about things otherwise I have only been tested for HIV (thankfully all have been negative).

Hopefully I am clear on the STDs and my first sperm test was off for some reason and I can move on with both aspects of my life!  I thought I was over this fear but now another factor in my health is screwed up and I struggle to understand the reasons.

I recently had a physical and CBC/Urine analysis all came back normal.

Do you think my male infertility could be caused by HIV, or another STD (Hep C or Rubella (I think these are the three they check for)), for my sanity I would like to check for these again myself at the local clinic before getting the results in a room with my partner.  Do any of my symptoms indicate a risk for any of these?

Thanks in advance for any thoughts on the topic.  

[needtobesure]

Thanks doc, I have been doing my best to overcome my fears and staying away from this site!  Thanks for the clarification.

[Edward W Hook, MD]

Welcome back to our Forum.  In preparing to answer your questions about your fertility, I looked at some of your 28 other posts on various MedHelp Forums and Communities. I agree with the prior statements made to you about dandruff, folliculitis and dry eyes and have nothing to add to what you have already heard - these problems do not in any way suggest that you have HIV.  

As for your sperm evaluation, for starters, while I am not an expert in this area, my sense is that while there are abnormalities in your semen analysis, what they indicate that while it may bve somewhat more difficult for you to fertilize a partner's eggs, that fertilization is still possible.  Since this is not my field, I will not elaborate further on this and will defer to your own doctors.

What I am expert in however is STDs and I can tell you that neither HIV nor hepatitis C are associated with infertility.  Some inflammatory STDs like gonorrhea or chlamydia can cause infertility as a complication of scarring due to infection but they do so by blocking passage of sperm through the reproductive tract.  Since you had sperm present in your semen analysis, this is not your problem either.  

It is not clear to me if you have been tested for these problems or not.  If you have not been tested, you should be.  Testing does not give a person infection but it does give them the power to know what is going on and whether or not they have the infection.  Most tests are negative and if you were so unfortunate as to have HIV or hepatitis, the test would allow you to seek treatment sooner.  There is no reason to delay or avoid HIV testing.  On the other hand, if you have been tested, you need to believe the test results.  EWH