Home Health How New OTC Eroxon Gel Can Affect Erectile Dysfunction and Sex

How New OTC Eroxon Gel Can Affect Erectile Dysfunction and Sex

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How New OTC Eroxon Gel Can Affect Erectile Dysfunction and Sex

Until 1999, when Viagra first hit the market, it may have been harder to talk about erectile dysfunction. But when several oral ED medications became available by prescription, ED became a little easier to discuss — at least among men and healthcare professionals. However, stigmas and misconceptions about the condition still persisted, likely making it difficult many of the approximately 30 million men with ED in the US to discuss their situation with their partners. However, now that a topical gel for erectile dysfunction, Eroxon, is available over the counter without a prescription, the big question is whether discussions about erectile dysfunction will become more, well, topical, natural, and open before and during sex.

A big misconception is that erections can be like a TV show Cobra Kai—available upon request and within a short time. “Both men and women subscribe to the idea of ​​an erection on demand,” lamented Emily Jamea, PhD, LMFTa sex and relationship therapist from Houston, Texas. “We need to do more work to debunk this misinformation.” Jamea pointed out that it is well known and accepted that women take a while to warm up and require a fair amount of foreplay. Yet there is often a belief among men that, um, they have to be ready for anything at any time. “Many men have that [felt that they] had to hide erection problems,” Jamea explained. This can lead to too much pressure on the man, making it “almost guaranteed that a man will not be able to get an erection,” in Jamea’s words.

This is made worse by the idea that men are just running around having sex and reproducing. TV shows, movies, and other forms of video entertainment, including shows you shouldn’t tell others you’re watching, are usually fast-forwarded from taking off your pants to getting on stage. You don’t see many love scenes in TV shows and movies with ED, unless it’s some kind of ha-ha, look-at-what-is-or-preferably-not-to-be situation. All of this has likely reinforced the unnecessary stigma and shame associated with erectile dysfunction.

Jamea believes that the availability of Eroxon could change that. In June 2023 I wrote for Forbes about how the U.S. Food and Drug Administration had approved the topical gel as an over-the-counter medication. Speaking of things not being available immediately, it obviously took a while for Haleon to get everything in order after approval so that the gel can debut at major retailers nationwide this month, October 2024 and online through Amazon. “Because it is available without a prescription, Eroxon is easier to obtain,” says Jamea. “Anything OTC can reduce the stigma because you can just put it on the shopping list.” That can be very different from having to go to a doctor and get a prescription.

“One of the barriers to dealing with ED is shame and not wanting to go to the doctor,” said Joshua R. Gonzalez, MD, a urologist and sexual medicine specialist practicing West Hollywood, California. “If this is available to men without a prescription, men can access it in the real world.” Yes, men and doctor’s offices don’t always go together like hot dogs and taste.

Research has shown that many men are generally uncomfortable seeing and talking to doctors. For example, in a 2019 Cleveland Clinic study77 percent of male respondents with a partner said they would rather go shopping with their partner than go to the doctor, and 20 percent said they had not been completely honest with their doctors in the past. And you can imagine where “shopping with the partner” might rank on various men’s lists of favorite activities.

“Many men are not good at taking care of their health,” Gonzalez indicated. “Sometimes they wait five to 10 years after struggling with ED for quite some time before seeing a doctor.” He added: “This may be especially true for younger men in their 20s, as ED is wrongly thought of as a problem that only older men face. It can happen to men of any age, from their early twenties.”

Having an ED drug in gel form can also help things gel more between partners. After all, it is easier to play with a gel than with a pill. You can do more things with it. Jamea recommended having a partner apply the gel. “It can promote cooperation with anything that is open,” says Jamea. “You can include it in foreplay.” And while it can take 30 to 60 minutes for Viagra to kick things off, Eroxon should take effect within 10 minutes of application.

The packaging does warn: “It may take 3-4 uses of the product before you achieve the desired effect.” Therefore, if you want to use the gel, you may want to try it yourself at least once before using it in prime time. A failed experiment may not be what you intend when you tell your partner that you like to experiment with sex. In any case, tell your partner in advance what he can and cannot expect with the gel.

Additionally, keep in mind that no product works for everyone and no product is 100% effective. Clinical trials and studies can show what can happen to certain groups of people. But the results do not always apply to everyone. So before you have any expectations, it is better to see what will actually happen to you.

The gel comes in single-use tubes so you can determine how much gel to use each time. Whenever the FDA considers a drug for approval as OTC, it has to take into account how people can mess things up in different ways. That’s because people can be quite creative in not following directions, especially if they are not under the care of a doctor. If it’s a gel, you think someone somewhere will put it on all kinds of things in all kinds of quantities. Therefore, an OTC drug should have more leeway than a prescription drug when it comes to safe use. Although research has shown that it is not a problem if the gel ends up on different parts of your body and that of your partner, this does not mean that you should deliberately use the gel as a facial moisturizer or the like.

Another concern is that the availability of such OTC medications may prevent men from visiting doctors for proper emergency room evaluation when needed. Experiencing ED is not necessarily a sign of another underlying medical condition. Stress and anxiety can certainly lead to erectile problems, as can everyday life and the luck of the draw. It can also be a side effect of medications. At the same time, however, you don’t want to miss the possibility that a chronic medical condition, such as cardiovascular disease, diabetes, or a hormonal imbalance, is causing this problem. One challenge will therefore be to reduce the stigma while ensuring that men receive appropriate medical monitoring when necessary.

It will likely only be a matter of time before other topical treatments for erectile dysfunction are approved by the FDA for OTC use. Having more FDA-approved OTC options is certainly preferable to a situation where men have to rely on questionable things pushed on social media and TV. And if there are more options like this that can be applied to the surface of the penis instead of having to be ingested, conversations about erectile dysfunction could come more to the surface.

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