Calling all men hate wrapping it up and would rather hit it raw: The male birth control ‘pill’ is finally one step closer to hitting the market. Hell to the yes!
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Apparently, the US National Institutes of Health and the Population Council will recruit 420 couples from all over the world for a new study, including the US, UK, Sweden, Kenya, and Italy, in order to test a brand new sperm reducing male birth control gel.
The participants will apply the hormonal gel to their shoulders twice a day as their only form of birth control, and will hope that it will be enough to keep them from knocking up their girlfriends.
The gel contains a mixture of progestin and testosterone, which work together to inhibit sperm creation. And as we all know, without sperm, there’s no baby.
In a previous 6-month pilot trial of the product, it was found that the gel effectively reduced sperm counts while maintaining healthy testosterone levels, which is great news. If your testosterone dips, then your manliness goes haywire, and nobody wants that.
However, the trial did basically all but test the effectiveness of the gel as a contraceptive, but luckily, the upcoming trial is going to determine that.
Back in 2016, a male birth control injection was studied by the World Health Organization, but the trial was cut short due to very unsavory side effects, including pain, erectile dysfunction (an effective form of birth control, in all fairness), mood swings, acne, and depression.
Researchers believe the gel will have less side effects than the injection, considering the hormones are released more consistently (twice a day), relative to the injection, which is received once every few months.
Sadly, the gel will still have side effects, and the most common is believed to be acne – though some participants in the pilot trial reported mood swings, insomnia, headaches, and increased appetite. But I’m sure those side effects can easily be dealt with.
Currently, the only forms of male birth control are a vasectomy, condoms, or then ever-popular pullout method – one of which requires surgery – so I’m sure a topical gel will be like a dream come true for all you dudes who like to hit it raw.