by Chris Shugart
Topical Titillation and Nutritional Nuances
A new drug for women makes boom-boom even more fun. Here it is, plus some other ways to enhance sexy time.
Back in high school, my Advanced Biology teacher spent a single class teaching us about male anatomy. Then, for the next eight classes, we learned about female sexual health. "Men are simple," she said. "The female anatomy, however, is complex, delicate, and infinitely more fascinating."
She wasn't wrong. Women have a lot going on down there. And, historically, science has ignored many aspects of female sexual health, especially sexual pleasure. Heck, it took until the year 2000 for a female scientist to convince her male colleagues that an internal structure of the clitoris even existed.
Today, science is playing catch-up. For example, the FDA approved Viagra (sildenafil) for erectile dysfunction in 1998, but there really hasn't been an equivalent drug for females suffering from several issues that fall under the umbrella of sexual arousal disorder. (Women can take Viagra off-label, but it doesn't seem to work very well.)
Now, however, there's some hope with topical sildenafil.
The Study
This study was composed of over 5000 very big words, so let me give you the gist:
- Women aged 29 to 43 reporting sexual arousal disorder used either a topical sildenafil cream (3.6%) or a placebo cream for 12 weeks. They rubbed this cream "down there" before sex.
- Those using the real stuff experienced increased sexual arousal, desire, and orgasm satisfaction.
- But it didn't work for everyone, like the women experiencing orgasmic dysfunction. The researchers note that topical sildenafil works by increasing blood flow to the genitals, but it can't fix neurological or psychological issues (other causes of orgasmic dysfunction.)
Overall, it was a pretty successful study, and the FDA will likely approve the drug soon.
Now, the researchers could never say this, but I can: Much like how healthy men use Viagra and Cialis for recreational purposes, healthy women could probably use this topical drug the same way. There aren't any concerning side effects, and more blood flow, engorgement, desire, and lubrication lead to more good times.
What Else Do Women Need for Enhanced Hanky Panky?
The researchers above didn't test for other stuff, like hormones and nutritional status, but those things can also lead to various problems related to female sexual dysfunction. So, women, like men, should make sure their foundational health is on solid ground:
- Get Plenty of Zinc. This basic mineral deficiency or insufficiency is associated with low female testosterone, which of course affects libido and sexual satisfaction. It's an easy fix: supplement with zinc, ideally in the chelated form to ensure absorption. Elitepro Vital Minerals (Buy at Amazon) provides 30 mg of chelated zinc.
- Take Microencapsulated Vitamin D. Women with high levels of vitamin D3 score higher on all factors relating to sexual satisfaction, but deficiencies are super common, even with standard supplementation. So, take highly bioavailable microencapsulated vitamin D3 (Buy at Amazon).
- Eat or Supplement with Punicalagin and Lycopene. Punicalagin, found in small amounts in pomegranate, enhances blood flow and moderately boosts testosterone. Lycopene, found in concentrated tomato products, elevates levels of nitric oxide (NO), which relaxes the smooth muscle fibers of clitoral blood vessels so that more blood can pump in. Supplementally, both are found in P-Well (Buy at Amazon).
- Hormone Replacement Therapy. HRT is complex. Get a forward-thinking doctor and blood tests. Just like the nutritional factors above, it makes sense to cover the hormonal bases before you "treat the symptoms" with a topical cream. Here's how to spot and fix female low T.
Reference
- Johnson et al. "Preliminary Efficacy of Topical Sildenafil Cream for the Treatment of Female Sexual Arousal Disorder. A Randomized Controlled Trial." Obstetrics & Gynecology, June 18, 2024.
