Are Sprays To Prevent Premature Ejaculation Safe for Your Vagina?

Premature ejaculation—in which a person ejaculates too quickly during sex—is a medical condition that affects as many as one in three people with penises, according to the Urology Care Foundation.

To treat this problem, several companies sell topical numbing sprays and gels designed to desensitize the penis and help you last longer before reaching orgasm. Popular numbing products—informally called "delay sprays"—include skin numbing solutions like lidocaine and local anesthetics such as prilocaine.

The question is, can these products affect your vagina? If they numb your partner's penis, will you suddenly go numb and lose your orgasm? Could it have long-term effects? Health had an ob-gyn take a closer look at these products and answer our questions.

What's in These Products?

According to a 2016 study in Drug Discovery Today, topical products to prevent premature ejaculation usually contain lidocaine or procaine, anesthetics that numb the skin. The numbing effect on the penis can supposedly help a guy avoid premature ejaculation. "Men with premature ejaculation tend to be sensitive to stimulation," Jennifer Landa, MD, an ob-gyn and chief medical officer at BodyLogicMD in Maitland, Florida, told Health. By applying a gel that induces numbness, "it may make men last longer and require more stimulation before they ejaculate," Dr. Landa said.

How Will It Affect My Vagina?

Just as these topical treatments will lower sensation in the penis, they can also lower sensation in and around the vagina as soon as your partner's penis makes skin contact with your body. "If your partner uses the spray, it will certainly increase the risk of numbing your genitals. This numbing can cause decreased sensitivity to your labia, clitoris, and other areas as well," said Dr. Landa. "This can make it challenging to enjoy sex and to have an orgasm."

While the spray can cut back on the pleasure you feel, Dr. Landa said that if your partner lets it fully dry before entering you, the effect might not be all that bad or even noticeable. Furthermore, if your partner puts on a condom after applying the product, that can keep it from actually making direct skin contact with your vagina, so no numbing can happen.

"Most of the inside of the vagina is nowhere near as sensitive as the clitoris and the inner labia, so theoretically, if the spray is applied carefully and he is careful to apply the spray mainly to areas that will be inserted deeply during sex, it is less likely that the lidocaine spray will interfere with her pleasure," said Dr. Landa.

What's the Long-Term Effect?

Dr. Landa believed these products to be safe, and there have been no reported long-term effects on people with vaginas. However, they may have an unexpected long-term effect on people with penises who use them or any other premature ejaculation product. You might start to rely on it to last longer in bed instead of addressing the root cause of why you orgasm so quickly. "Treatment for premature ejaculation should ideally involve psychotherapy and behavioral changes," said Dr. Landa.