- A cream made with sildenafil increases women’s pleasure and orgasms
- A clinical trial conducted on women with sexual arousal disorder had promising results
- It works by dilating small arteries under the skin, increasing blood flow to the vagina.
A cream made with the same drug used in Viagra could do wonders for women’s libido, a study shows.
Early results from a US clinical trial show that women with sexual arousal disorders who rubbed the cream on their genitals had greater desire, greater pleasure and better orgasms.
The cream is made with sildenafil, the same ingredient that made Viagra one of the world’s best-selling drugs.
Rubbed 10 to 20 minutes before sexual intercourse, it works by dilating the small arteries just under the skin, increasing blood flow to the vagina.
This rush of oxygen-rich blood is believed to be what makes women want to have sex.
A cream made with the same drug used in Viagra could do wonders for women’s libido, a study shows. Pictured: The iconic orgasm scene from When Harry Met Sally, starring Meg Ryan.
Early results from a US clinical trial show that women with sexual arousal disorders who rubbed the cream on their genitals had greater desire, greater pleasure and better orgasms (file photo)
It could help restore intimacy for many of the one in five UK women who suffer from low libido.
Viagra pills have transformed the love lives of millions of men around the world since the drug first appeared in the late 1990s.
The “little blue pill” is being investigated as a possible treatment for a variety of other diseases, from Alzheimer’s disease to heart failure.
But treating female sexual disorders has been much more complicated.
Although there are two drugs licensed in the US (one is a tablet which can have serious side effects and the other is an injection), neither is available in the UK.
Scientists from two independent American research companies, along with Dare Bioscience, the San Diego-based company that developed the cream, recruited 33 women with sexual arousal disorder.
This is where there has been no sexual activity – or any interest in it – for at least six months.
The women were asked to apply either an amount of cream to their fingertip shortly before sex or an identical amount of a simulated cream that looked the same.
Before and after the three-month experiment, researchers questioned the women about their sex lives, assessing libido and levels of sexual satisfaction.
The results, published in the journal Obstetrics and Gynaecology, showed that the scores of women who used Viagra cream improved considerably, with higher sexual desire, more pleasure and stronger orgasms.
But those who used the placebo cream saw little or no change.
The researchers, who are planning larger studies to see if the results can be replicated, said: ‘Trials with sildenafil pills in women have shown marginal effectiveness and intolerable side effects.
“But a fast-absorbing cream could have fewer side effects and a more immediate biological response.”