Until now, birth control pills were available in the market only for women to avoid unwanted pregnancies. The risk of unwanted pregnancy is significantly reduced thanks to these pills. But now this facility is available for men.
At an event organized in Paris, a nurse named Labrit presented to the world something that made everyone curious. This thing was: silicone rings of different colors.
Let us tell you that throughout our planet there are more than two billion men who are in their fertile age, that is, they are at the best age to be a father. Many times cases of unwanted pregnancies also come to light. Women often have to bear the burden of avoiding unwanted pregnancies, while men have no option to stop their fertility, or rather, men cannot help in any way to prevent unwanted pregnancies.
Now some good news has come out. There are now many options for men to prevent unwanted pregnancies. Men also have many such options that you can buy immediately. However, whatever products are available on the market to prevent pregnancy, there is no 100 percent guarantee whether they will be completely effective or not.
More and more men are showing interest in taking control of their fertility. A global study conducted with the support of organizations such as the Gates Foundation and the United Nations has revealed that interest in contraceptives is increasing among men. 76 percent of men in Bangladesh, 76 percent in Nigeria, 70 percent in Vietnam, 66 percent in Congo, 62 percent in Ivory Coast, 52 percent in Kenya and 39 percent in the United States.
Contraceptive options for men
According to the Male Contraceptive Initiative, scientists are working on more than 100 innovations. Some methods prevent sperm from developing. Other methods focus on preventing the sperm from swimming, so that they cannot reach the egg. Other methods block the sperm again. Some techniques can prevent sperm from fertilizing eggs.
Until now, efforts to develop new contraceptive methods for men have repeatedly failed. So far, NES/T gel applied to the shoulder is leading the race in clinical trials. Additionally, there is a gel called Contraline that blocks the tube that carries sperm and there is also a daily non-hormonal pill of your choice. It is currently being tested in people but will not be available on the market for the next 5 to 10 years.
Nurse Labrit, who works on birth control for men, says that now men can use thermal contraceptives, there is no need to wait. Labrit invented these silicone rings because of his personal problems. He told her that he was in love with a French girl and asked her to take care of his sperm. In view of this, Labrit together with his parents developed the prototype of this Andro-Switch Ring.
New approach: thermal contraception
Sperm production is sensitive to temperature. These rings bring the testicles closer to the body, allowing them to absorb natural body heat. An increase of a few degrees in temperature can temporarily stop men’s fertility.
In France, thermal underwear with thermal patches is sold. In this, the testicles are wrapped in a layer of heat, which makes it difficult to produce sperm.
One of the main ways to monitor fertility is through a seminogram (semen test), which evaluates sperm quality. To solve this problem, Dr. Rolf Tobisch, a German researcher at the Technische Hochschule Mittelhausen (University of Applied Sciences), has developed a home spermogram, a device that allows people to check their fertility from the comfort of their home.
However, bringing this product to market has been a challenge for Tobish. Medical certification is time-consuming and expensive, and large pharmaceutical companies are not willing to invest in it.
It has also developed a thermal contraceptive device designed to heat the testicles for just 10 minutes a month, which it claims temporarily stops men’s fertility.
Medical certification can take several years, Tobish said, requiring extensive laboratory research, clinical trials and approval from health authorities.
As a last resort, many inventors brand their products separately as sex or wellness toys. The thermal underwear is sold as a comfort item and the Labrit silicone ring is sold as a “decorative item” on the Thoreme.com website.
Tests conducted on humans must evaluate whether each product is individually safe. But decades of research have shown that it can be safe. For example, three separate studies examined whether increasing testicular temperature by 1 to 2°C (33 to 35°F) for at least 15 hours a day affected sperm production. Many couples have turned to thermal contraception to prevent unwanted pregnancies.
According to Logan Nickels, director of research at the Male Anticeptive Initiative (MCI), bringing products to market requires the support of large pharmaceutical companies. But instead of moving forward on this issue, pharmaceutical companies are allowing startups to take on the risk.
The last major attempt was made some time ago. German pharmaceutical company Bayer tested the contraceptive on men and found it to be “effective and its side effects controllable.”
The growing interest of men globally indicates that change is near. The global contraceptive market is estimated to reach $44 billion by 2030, so many countries are investing in this future.
