Innovative contraceptive manufacturers are hard at work, creating shots, pills and other remedies that will render males temporarily infertile. This means we will soon have physiologic forms of birth control that will finally give men control over fertility. (The condom isn’t going anywhere, since it’s still the only way to prevent the spread of STDs).
Not to mention, the advent of male contraceptives will mean women can take a break from the often ghastly side effects of long-term hormonal birth control options.
Four Male Contraceptive Options That Give Women a Birth Control Break
Here are four exciting new male-only birth control options that are being developed and should be available over the next half-decade or so.
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Vasalgel will block those sperm for years. Vasalgel is one of the most exciting new prospects on the market and it’s expected to be available in as little as three years (sometime between 2018 and 2020). While Vasalgel does require a quick injection into the scrotum (which is done with the addition of a local anesthetic and takes no more than a few minutes in the doctor’s office), the effects last for years. The product works by squirting a polymer into the tubes the sperm travel to mix with semen in order to be ejaculated. Think of it like a snip-less form of a vasectomy.
If the sperm can’t get out, they can’t fertilize an egg. When a male is ready to conceive a baby with his partner, he simply returns for a second injection that dissolves the polymer and, voila!, sperm are on their way to the target again.
Gendarussa keeps sperm from penetrating the egg’s shell. A pill form of Gendarussa is another exciting potential option, and one that has been associated with zero negative side effects thus far. Gendarussa is a native Indonesian plant and Indonesian trials have been quite successful. An active ingredient in the plant makes it extremely difficult – nigh on impossible – for sperm to break through an egg’s durable outer membrane – or shell. Thus, conception isn’t possible.
To date, hundreds of men have taken the pill daily for extended periods of time (100+ days) and there has only been a single resulting pregnancy. That’s as good, if not better, than current female birth control pills – and it doesn’t involve messing with hormone balance.
The Clean Sheets Pill makes sure no fluids/sperm emerge. Then, there is the Clean Sheets Pill, invented in the UK. This spectacular pill has double benefits. It is designed to relax specific muscles and gland functions without inhibiting others. The result is that your male partner can experience an orgasm without actually ejaculating. No ejaculate means no fluid or sperm to swim in the fluid. The Clean Sheets Pill also makes for cleaner sheets, which is a secondary bonus for those who prefer things on the less-messy side. Currently it is being experimented with in pill form, which are fast-acting and can be taken up to 24-hours ahead of time. However, time-release capsules are also being tested.
Anti-Eppin pills mean anti-swimming sperm. Finally, Anti-eppin agents are being developed in the United States. Eppin is a protein found on the surface of the sperm. When activated by special enzymes found in semen, eppin helps sperm to swim swift and strong. If eppin isn’t activated, they swim weak and wiggly. Thus, anti-eppin formulas disrupt the reaction between semen enzymes and the sperm, leading to compromised sperm motility.
What do you think about the new possibility of contraceptive options for men? Would your man be willing to use or take them? Share your input with our Overlake followers in the comment box below.