Birth control gels are coming for men as well as women
September 24, 20242 Mins Read
Lifestyle Desk: Like birth control pills for women, researchers are coming up with long-lasting solutions for men as well. The test product is a hormonal gel that men rub onto their shoulders once a day. Over time this will reduce sperm production in the testicles.

Hormonal gel

The gel, developed by the National Institutes of Health and the nonprofit Population Council, would work similarly to birth control pills for women. It contains two hormones: Nestorone (a progestin) and testosterone. Nestorone stops sperm production by reducing testosterone production in the testicles.

But testosterone is important for muscle maintenance, libido and other bodily functions. The gel provides a limited amount of testosterone to keep men healthy, but not enough to produce sperm. Researchers have been working on the exact dosage and concentration of the gel since 2005. After a recent test conducted on more than three hundred couples, they said they were satisfied with their results. There are usually 15 to 200 million sperm per milliliter of semen. Studies have shown that having less than one million sperm per milliliter of semen can prevent pregnancy.

A clinical trial showed that 86 percent of men had sperm counts reduced to a certain number after using the gel. For some, sperm production declines more quickly, within four to eight weeks. Diana Blythe, head of the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development at the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development in America, said, 'We are really excited to see the results. The combination appears to reduce sperm production better and faster than we expected.'

Blythe, however, was unable to say whether any unintended pregnancies had occurred during the trial. He said he did not want to release the results now, and the researchers hope that the final data will be published in a medical journal.

Missing a regular dose of birth control pills for a day or two in a row increases the risk of pregnancy. But this problem does not happen in case of jail. Even if a man forgets to apply the gel for a day or two, it takes about 8 to 10 weeks for his sperm count to return to normal.

A female organ changes every two months

While birth control pills can cause mood swings or depression in women, the effects are less common in men. "A small number of men have mood swings, but the numbers are relatively small, which we were surprised by," Blyth said.