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For many men, how long they last during sex comes wrapped in anxiety and according to some studies, anywhere from 4-40% of men deal with some sort of premature ejaculation. (Credit that huge range to the fact that “premature ejaculation” is not a well-defined affliction. More on that below.) Hims, the men’s wellness brand known for their hilarious droopy cactus ads, wants to help with that. They’re now adding a topical premature ejaculation spray to their offering on top of their successful direct-to-consumer erectile dysfunction pills.
But can a premature ejaculation spray actually work?
Pej Spray, which launches today, is a topical spray that uses lidocaine, a common numbing agent used in medicine. The idea is simple: about 5-10 minutes before sex, you spray it onto your penis, which desensitizes the nerves so you can have sex longer. According to Hims, testers of the product noted they could last an average of 64% longer in bed.
“A lot of men have issues with it,” says urologist Amin Herati, MD, Director of Male Infertility and Men’s Health at Brady Urological Institute at Johns Hopkins. “The problem is that many men don’t come forward and talk about it.” Added to the cloak of mystique is that there isn’t a single definition of what premature ejaculation exactly is. How long you’re supposed to last in bed is largely subjective. “It’s not apples to apples when comparing patients,” says Dr. Herati. “What feels abnormal to one person might feel completely normal to another.” The bottom line, though, is that if it’s causing you anxiety and hindering your ability to have and enjoy sex, it’s worth treating. “Sexual medicine is forgiving,” he says. “If someone comes in with a quality of life impairment, I treat it rather than let them linger in an unhappy state.”
Lidocaine sprays like the Pej Spray have long been used as a treatment for premature ejaculation and Dr. Herati routinely recommends similar versions to his patients. “It’s actually the oldest treatment that we have,” he says. “The reason [these sprays] are ideal is that they are rapid and reversible.” This means that topical sprays like this can be used as needed, instead of a daily medication or pill.
The decision to develop a product to treat premature ejaculation might not seem like a huge leap for a brand built on offering generic sildenafil (Viagra) pills, but according to Andrew Dudum, founder of Hims, the decision came from customer feedback. “We have now hundreds of thousands of men talking to us every month about things they’re concerned with,” he says. “[Premature ejaculation] is one of, if not the, biggest issue around sexual wellness.”
The benefits of a spray, as Dudum says and Dr. Herati supports, is that it’s easy to use and is fast acting. That’s great news if you use it right before you get busy. But it does take some practice. “It’s important to know that you can overuse this product and you can underuse this product and neither of those is good,” says Dudum. Hims recommends using between 1 and 3 sprays per use and finding the right dosage for you through trial and error. It’s also essential to remember that while sprays like this do wear off quickly, like any drug it might come with side effects. The biggest risk is being overzealous with the spray, since too much lidocaine can cause prolonged numbness. It’s a fine balance since you still want to, you know, feel the sex that you’re having. A good way to avoid this, according to Dr. Herati, is to spray it just on the tip and avoid the shaft. And as with all sexual intercourse, protection is key. “I always caution that it’s possible you may pass it on to your partner if you’re not wearing a condom,” says Dr. Herati, which means that your partner could also experience decreased sensitivity.
Additionally, Dr. Herati cautions that since the exact causes of premature ejaculation are entirely known, a treatment like this may not be the be-all-end-all. “Usually people require multiple treatments anyway because [premature ejaculation is] a grey area,” he says. “There can be so many things going on between the brain, the nerves, and other issues like anxiety.” If problems persist, speaking in person to your doctor about additional treatments like medications can help.
For now, Hims hopes to, at the very least, destigmatize yet another conversation around men’s wellness. “Since [the Pej Spray] is over the counter, it can be included in every man’s kit of tools that he uses to be the most confident, most productive version of himself,” says Dudum. “It’s giving you a tool that can help you perform a little bit better under your own standards.”
Pej Spray is available starting today at hims.com for $ 29