Male Contraceptive Gel?!

[sextronaut]

OMG. This BBC article focuses on a couple in Edinburgh who are a part of a trial for a new form of contraception- a hormonal gel for men. It’s a mixture of progesterone and testosterone and it seems to be effective! I’m so excited by this news – and if it works it sounds like it would be perfect for me and my sex life. What are your thoughts about it?

[tea]

OOoh how interesting @sextronaut!!! I really hope this kicks off – it would be so great for people to have more options than just the standard condom. I think it’s good to get the conversation going on multiple contraceptive methods being available. It’d be a plus if it were more cost effective too!

[sextronaut]

@tea absolutely!! I told a female friend about this and her first reaction was ‘rubbing it on their shoulders?! Is the only way they can get men to use contraception is if they rub it on their muscles?!’ ???
Probably not the case, obviously. But I am curious about why the gel is meant to be placed up on the shoulder!

[GoldenRose]

This is such a good idea! It would be good to have more options that don’t mess with our hormones and sex drive.
I wonder though whether it would be similar to taking the pill where you have to rub the gel on at the same time every day and whether other things would affect it effectiveness?

[tea]

@sextronaut @goldenrose Maybe it increases effectiveness since topical treatments absorb into the body to attain systemic distribution. Wikipedia says “Gel enjoys a high rate of acceptance due to its cosmetic elegance” which makes sense I guess if you’re introducing a new contraceptive method, you’d want it to be as non-invasive and popular as possible.

I wonder what @nurse_nettie has to say about the gel being placed on the shoulder though?

[Nurse_Nettie]

Hi @tea, @sextronaut & @goldenrose, the gel has been applied on the abdomen(tummy), shoulders or back. Although the absorption is good, the man has to chose an area on the body where skin rubbing is not likely to occur with another person. This is to avoid the risk of sharing the hormonal contraception.

[tea]

Oh wow that’s so interesting @nurse_nettie, thank you! Totally didn’t even consider the transferable aspect of the cream! Makes sense! 🙂

[Aunt_Flo]

I’m really glad that contraceptive options are expanding, particularly for men who have sex with women.

Not sure if I’d feel secure with my partner using this one though, especially if it can run off on me!

[Author]

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