Ice on testicles and donating blood - di myths dem tell men wey dey try boost dia sperm

Evri morning wen Simon wake up, im dey go sauna. Di heat dey help am sweat out toxins wey e say dey improve di sperm function - but e need extra protection from di heat.

"I dey use an ice pack, dem call am Chill Nuts, and I go put am on di testicles in order to preserve high sperm count," e tell BBC World Service.

Dis na all part of im sperm-optimising regime, wey e dey follow despite a lack of medical evidence to prove say e dey work.

Di 28-year-old Venezuelan-American from Miami, Florida, also dey ensure say e dey get daily exposure to sunlight and exercises regularly. E dey drink water from im microplastic filter and e dey wear cotton boxer shorts to avoid di potential impact of toxins.

But Simon no dey plan to get children any time soon and e no even get partner - e dey more concerned wit how a low sperm count fit affect im health.

"Low fertility fit impact endocrine function, your testosterone levels or oda hormones - and dat na great fear," e tell us. Although endocrine function dey impact sperm count, low fertility no dey directly disrupt endocrine function or testosterone levels.

Simon na one of di growing number of men wey don dey take serious interest in increasing dia sperm counts.

Globally, hashtags wey relate to male fertility, like #malefertility, #semenanalysis and #sperm don get hundreds of millions of views on TikTok and Instagram, while di largest subreddits wey dey focus on male fertility don triple since January.

Male fertility experts globally say dem don see increase for di number of men wey dey request for semen analysis and express concerns about dia future fertility.

Di experts believe say dis na sake of growing use of testosterone replacement therapies (TRT) and steroids, plus concerns around environmental toxins, wey fit disrupt fertility-related hormones.

UK-based fertility expert Prof Suks Minhas say dis focus dey provide mixed benefits. "E dey important to raise di profile of male infertility. But we fit dey fuel dat worry unnecessarily?"

Meanwhile, one industry of influencers and products dey come up and capitalise on dis anxiety, di professor add.

Like many odas, Simon bin first discover di topic on social media. But e neva still test im sperm and no get specific reasons to dey concerned about im health.

"Na sometin wey I generally dey scared of, so I choose to protect my fertility," e tok.

Against a backdrop of declining sperm counts around di world, di ex-Silicon Valley billionaire claim say e get four times di average sperm count.

E dey promote di sauna and ice pack protocols - health steps - to increase testosterone and sperm count, wey Simon dey follow.

Johnson content - followed by more dan six million pipo, dey drive potential customers back to im website, Blueprint, wia e dey sell supplements.

E dey far from being di only voice. Oda protocols wey influencers dey promote without medical evidence include certain supplements, red light therapy, and donating blood to "filter out" microplastics.

Di health influencers content dey comes in di wake of wider discussions about declining birth rates globally.

Di US Secretary for Health, RFK Jr - recently tok of a "fertility crisis" and argue say in 1970, "men bin get twice di sperm count as our teenagers get today".

E no get any scientific evidence say teenagers get lower sperm counts dan men in 1970, and while some large-scale analyses of past studies don suggest a significant global drop in sperm count since di 1970s, di area remain under-researched. Dis mean say di causes of sperm count decline and di impact on overall birth rates dey unclear.

Meanwhile, manosphere-adjacent Influencers like Andrew Huberman don discuss declining male sperm counts for dia podcasts, with Joe Rogan warning of an impending "population collapse".

E get many reasons for di birth rate decline oda dan biological ability - wey dey impact one-in-seven couples globally. Economic and societal issues dey regularly cited as wetin dey put pipo off having children.

While e believe say dia is room for valid concern, Prof Channa Jayasena, a reproductive endocrinologist at Imperial College, believe say di claims dey overblown on social media.

"E get certain challenges out there, but e dey far from clear wetin dose causes be," e tok.

Naturopath Lucas na one of di health influencers wey im content include warnings about fertility rates.

"We dey see a worldwide epidemic, a decrease in fertility across di board," e tell di BBC. E don also tell im YouTube audience di misleading claim say men go dey infertile in 33 years.

E dey sell online courses, provide 1:1 coaching, and sell supplements for men wey dey look to increase testosterone and fertility.

Im social media content, wey dey promote some unproven fertility protocols, don go viral.

"I recommend to guys to apply an ice pack up against im underwear, two to three times a day for about 10 to 15 minutes," e tok, and claim say clients don tell am say dia partners don get belle after trying dis.

Some of im followers also apply a red light device against or facing dia testes.

"Dis dey more preliminary. I think say e be a viable enough strategy to give am a shot as long as no harm come to di individual," e claim.

Wen questioned about di unproven nature of im advice, Lucas say e believe say icing di testes na a "promising intervention" but add say e go like to see more research.

Lucas also dey advise healthy eating, sleep and exercise - steps wey get a strong evidence base.

Dis fertility advice dey come alongside an increase in di number of men wey dey take testosterone-boosting drugs due to di rise of bodybuilding and looksmaxxing - an online trend involving maximising appearance.

But taking steroids and testosterone dey damage fertility.

To try and reverse dis damage, influencers dey promote "stacks" of different medications - wey dem often dey sell on dia websites.

Dis include fertility medications HCG and HMG, wey dey commonly-used for men and women to "switch on" fertility hormones. But dis fit get dangerous side effects and fit cause permanent harm wen taken without medical guidance.

"E dey incredibly dangerous," Prof Jayasena tok, "[some] fit cause blood clots, e fit actually cause breast growth, wey fit disfigure pesin if not treated promptly."

We tok to seven different men around di world wey bin dey take fertility "stacks" to get dia fertility back after taking TRT. Becos e dey illegal to buy drugs like steroids online, dem request anonymity.

One man tell me say e bin tink say e go father "many children" once e "blast HMG and HCG".

Jamal, no be im real name, take high doses of testosterone and steroids for bodybuilding, wey lower im fertility. E stop late last year wen im and im partner start to think about having kids.

E find fertility advice from men wey bin don take di same tins as im from online forums and YouTube and suggest di "fool-proof fertility stacks".

"Pipo online say, 'dis na how you go take am, na wetin you do'," Jamal tok. "I know say na probably a better way to go to an endocrinologist, but I literally buy am off some of dis publications."

After all dis no help, e seek professional help and meet Prof Jayasena. Until den, e bin no dey aware say taking dis fertility "stacks" unmonitored fit dey dangerous.

Jamal din stop all medication, including di fertility stack, under Prof Jayasena advice. Six months later, im natural testosterone levels don dey improve, however, di hormone wey dey stimulate sperm production still dey low. Im and di professor still dey hopeful say e go improve.

While increased awareness of male fertility dey positive, e don create a vacuum of information, Prof Jayasena warn - meaning men like Jamal dey take advice from influencers becos experts no always dey accessible.

"E fit, at di very best, actually distract dem from doing di tins wey fit actually help, but at worst e fit actually get dem to do tins wey no dey harmful," e add.