Premature Ejaculation Sprays Reviews
Premature ejaculation sprays are products that can help you last longer in bed. Their mechanism of action is the same as premature ejaculation cream or premature ejaculation condoms. They work by reducing your penis sensibility.
Premature ejaculation sprays contain a local anesthetic like lidocaine or benzocaine. When applied to the most sensitive part of the penis, the local anesthetic will numb some of our nerves. By doing so, they block some of the signals that the penis normally sends to trigger the ejaculation. Since those signals took more time to reach the brain and spinal cord, you can last longer with a premature ejaculation spray.
Because of those effects, premature ejaculation sprays are also called ejaculation delay sprays, desensitizing sprays or numbing spray. We sometimes use the term lidocaine spray because lidocaine is the main local anesthetic used in sprays in the USA.
What Are Premature Ejaculation Sprays?
Premature Ejaculation Sprays are liquid drops of desensitizing solution in aerosols. The solution acts as a local anesthetic.
When your sex is stimulated, it sends messages to your brain and spinal cord via your nervous system. When there is too much stimulation, the ejaculation reflex occurs. Some men ejaculate quickly because their penis sends too much of those messages. The local anesthetic solution will block some of those signals, thus delaying the time it takes to ejaculate.
Premature Ejaculation Sprays Active Ingredients
The active ingredients that act as local anesthetics in premature ejaculation sprays are benzocaine and lidocaine. Those substances are commonly used to treat, among other things, sore throats, toothache, earache1 or as a surgical/procedural local anathesia1,2. Both are available, in specific formats, as over-the-counter products in the USA.
FDA Approved Premature Ejaculation Sprays
The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved two different topical anesthetics for premature ejaculation: benzocaine and lidocaine. Both ingredients are used in over-the-counter PE sprays.
Benzocaine Sprays for Premature Ejaculation
Lidocaine is considered a stronger substance than benzocaine. However, benzocaine has other benefits over lidocaine.
First, benzocaine is condom safe. That’s not the case of lidocaine that is corrosive latex. When it not used as recommended, a lidocaine spray can damage your condom.
Second, if a high dosage of both substances can be harmful, lidocaine can be considered a more dangerous substance. For this reason, the FDA regulated the use of over-the-counter lidocaine products. Where benzocaine is available in different formats (sprays, cream, gel, condoms, wipes), lidocaine is only available in a dose-metered spray bottle to avoid overdose.
That’s why you’ll find benzocaine condoms and benzocaine PE cream, but no lidocaine condoms, or over-the-counter lidocaine cream. That’s also why you will not find a lot of benzocaine spray in the USA. Since lidocaine is stronger then benzocaine most PE spray in North America use this ingredient.
If you’re looking for the strongest delay effect, my advice would be to pass over the benzocaine sprays. Yes, Benzocaine products have their benefits. For example, the fact that they are condom-safe make the application simpler. Still, if this is your main concern, you’re probably better with a benzocaine PE condom or a benzocaine PE gel instead of a spray.
Lidocaine Sprays for Premature Ejaculation
As we mentioned, lidocaine sprays are the most common type of spray available. The most notorious PE sprays (Promescent, KY-Duration, Stud 100 or Dynamo Delay) all use lidocaine as their main ingredient.
The reason is simple, lidocaine is more effective than benzocaine. There are however some things to consider when it comes to lidocaine delay sprays.
The lidocaine can stick on your skin. It’s not all the substance that is absorbed by your epiderm. There are two problems with this. First, since lidocaine is corrosive to latex, it can damage the condom. Second, if you’re not using a condom, you can transfer the lidocaine to your partner. The goal of a PE spray is to desensitize yourself, not your partner!
So, with a lidocaine spray, you need to wash off the product before you engage. This should settle both problems.
Eutectic Lidocaine Sprays for Premature Ejaculation
Most over-the-counter lidocaine sprays formula use solid lidocaine. In its solid-crystalized form, lidocaine isn’t well absorbed by the skin. The lidocaine crystal can stick to the skin. That’s why you have to wash your penis with a damp cloth before you engage in any form of penetration. If you don’t clean the product off, you may desensitize your partner.
Aqueous (liquid) lidocaine is better absorbed by the skin. If the skin absorbs most of the lidocaine, that means you don’t have to clean the product off.* Since there is less lidocaine remaining on your skin, you don’t risk to desensitize your partner.
Another advantage of aqueous lidocaine is that you will benefit from the desensitizing of the penis nerves, but without the numbing feeling of regular lidocaine sprays. Indeed, one of the consequences of the solid lidocaine that stays on your skin is that it numbs the surface nerves. When the lidocaine is better absorbed, it will numb deeper nerves, so you will still maintain decent sensibility while benefiting from the ejaculation delay effect.
Which Premature Ejaculation Sprays Use Liquid Lidocaine?
The problem with liquid lidocaine is that it’s hard to get. Indeed, lidocaine melting point is 68 °C (154 °F), so at ambient temperature, it’s always solid. To overcome this issue, PE sprays manufacturer has to mix the lidocaine with another substance that will bring down its melting point. That’s what we call a eutectic mixture.
There are only two sprays that use a eutectic lidocaine mixture: Fortacin and Promescent. The first one is only available in Europe, and it requires a physician prescription. Promescent is available over-the-counter.
*Please note that although Promescent and Fortacin use eutectic lidocaine mixtures that are better absorbed by the skin, there have been no testing made regarding condom safety. Until we have data on this subject, it’s still required to wash off the product before using a condom.
Over the Counter Premature Ejaculation Spray
We can split OTC premature ejaculation sprays in three: benzocaine sprays, regular lidocaine sprays, and eutectic lidocaine mixture sprays.
OTC Benzocaine Sprays
As we mentioned, lidocaine is more potent than benzocaine. One of the benefits of PE sprays over other PE products like condoms or cream is that they can use lidocaine. If you want a product that is condom-safe and easy to apply, I suggest checking PE condoms or PE cream and gel instead of benzocaine sprays.
Still, if you’re looking of a benzocaine spray, there are some minor brands available like Stay Erect.
OTC Lidocaine Sprays
There are a lot of different brands of regular lidocaine sprays. The most popular brands are KY-Duration, Stud 100 and Dynamo Delay. Personally, I would advise you to stay with one of those brands since they are manufactured by reputable laboratories.
OTC Eutectic Lidocaine Sprays
The only OTC spray that uses a eutectic lidocaine mixture is Promescent. It’s more expensive than the regular sprays, but as we mentioned, it has unique benefits. You can check this Promescent review for further details.
Natural Premature Ejaculation Spray
You can find on Amazon or on other websites some “PE sprays” that contains no lidocaine or benzocaine. Those products claim that they use “natural” ingredient such as ginseng or clove oil instead of anesthetics. Those products, however, haven’t been tested and we do not know if they work outside of the placebo effect. That’s why I recommend you to stay with an FDA approved substance like lidocaine or benzocaine.
Prescription Only Premature Ejaculation
Fortacin, Recordati and TEMPE sprays
TEMPE (Topical eutectic-like mixture for premature ejaculation) is a premature ejaculation spray that uses a mixture of lidocaine and prilocaine. It’s branded as Fortacin in the UK and Recordati in other European countries. The spray is sometimes referred to as TEMPE spray or psd502 sprays (a name that was used during the drug development).
Developed by Plethora Solutions, it’s only available in some European countries with a doctor’s prescription. TEMPE spray is currently in the FDA approval process and might be available soon in the USA.
TEMPE Spray efficacity is backed by several studies. Since the spray uses prilocaine it can be sold over-the-counter. That means that the spray has to undergo a stricter approval process from the different health agencies. Those processes demand larger efficacy studies.
Where to Buy Fortacin in the USA or in Europe?
For now, you just can’t buy Fortacin in the USA. The closest thing available in North America is Promescent. If you’re looking for a eutectic PE spray and you don’t live in Europe, you should just use Promescent instead.
If you live in Europe, you just have to talk to your doctor about it.
In both cases, please never try to buy it online! I don’t have to remind you of the danger of using a shady online pharmacy. At best, you’ll end up with an ineffective counterfeit, at worst, you’ll hurt yourself with a dangerous product.
How to Use a Premature Ejaculation Spray?
For a maximal effectiveness, you need to spray the solution directly on your penis sometimes before sex. After a couple of minutes (between 5 to 20 minutes depending on the product), you need to wash off the product to make sure that you don’t transfer the product to your partner.
Note that if you’re using Promescent you don’t have this risk. Therefore, you can skip the “wash off” step if you’re not using a condom.
One thing to keep in mind is that, unlike the premature ejaculation cream, it’s harder to spread the solution evenly with your hands. So, be sure to aim your spray at the sensitive part of your penis. For more information, you can consult our guide on how to apply Promescent, KY Duration or other ejaculation delay sprays or check the summary below.
How Many Spray Should I Use?
Since over-spraying could present a health risk, please respect the quantity indicated on the product’s box or packaging. It could be tempting to apply more spray for better results, but it poses some serious risks to do so.
As we mentioned, lidocaine sprays come in a dose-metered bottle. Each spray contains approximately 11mg of lidocaine. The FDA oblige PE sprays manufacturer to print this mention on the label: “Apply 3 or more sprays, not to exceed 10…” So please, respect the safety instruction.
At first, you might want to start with less than ten. If your premature ejaculation issue isn’t severe, it’s possible that you will have trouble to orgasm with ten sprays.
Where Should I Apply the Spray?
The most sensitive area of the penis include the glans, the frenulum, the inner foreskin, and the outer foreskin. You have to make sure that all those areas are covered.
When Should I Apply the Spray?
The numbing effect of lidocaine and benzocaine take some time to take effect. That’s why you should apply it sometimes before sex. Each product has its own application time.
Lidocaine generally takes between five to ten minutes to take effect. You will begin to feel numb at five minutes, but the delay effect will be at his max after ten minutes.
Please note that some PE sprays can use different formulas, so for the exact waiting time, it’s better to follow the instructions on the product’s packaging.
While you wait for the effect to kick in, you can focus on increasing your partner arousal while controlling yours for a better ejaculation control.
Numbing Sprays and Erection Issues
One of the side effects of desensitizing sprays is that it makes erections harder to gain and maintain.
If you apply the product before you have an erection, you will feel it’s a bit tougher to get hard. Using a numbing spray can also make you more prone to losing your erection. If you have erection problems on top of your premature ejaculation, this could be an issue. However, if it’s easy for you to get an erection, it shouldn’t bother you.
How to Keep It to Yourself
Another unwanted effect of delay product can be an accidental desensitizing of your partner’s genitals. You want to keep the anesthetic to your sex; not your partner’s one.
Again, if you’re using Promescent, this shouldn’t be an issue. Bur for other brands, you will need to wash the product off with a damp cloth before you engage in vaginal, anal or oral stimulation.
Are Premature Ejaculation Sprays Effective?
Premature Ejaculation Sprays are a front-line treatment recommended by The International Consultation on Sexual Dysfunctions (ICSD)3. Fortacin, a lidocaine-prilocaine spray has robust studies that prove its efficacy4.
Promescent also has one Internet-based survey that suggests it’s efficacity5. The Promescent “study” however suffer from some methodology weakness like the lack of a real placebo control group. Still, the company behind Promescent is working on a new study that includes a control group and that should be released soon.
Overall, lidocaine effect at delaying ejaculation is well-documented6, and any lidocaine spray should make you last longer.
Personally, I’ve tested all the major brands and they all worked for me.
How Long Will I Last With An Ejaculation Delay Spray?
We know that numbing sprays work at delaying the ejaculation. The real question is to what extent do PE sprays work?
That’s a hard one to answer because PE has a lot of different causes and risk factors. Hypersensitivity of the penis is one of them. For some men, the sensitivity of their penis plays a big role in their rapid ejaculation. Those men will benefit a lot from PE sprays. However, other men come quickly for other reason like the lack of psychosexual skills. Although they can still benefit from numbing sprays, the effect won’t be as impressive as it is with other cases of PE.
Are Premature Effective Sprays Safe?
While benzocaine and lidocaine over-the-counter usages are approved by the FDA, they are still drugs and could present some side effects or cause allergic reactions. That’s why you always have to respect the product’s instruction for a safe usage. A talk with your doctor or pharmacist about the products you want to use is also advised.
That being said, based on different safety studies, allergies and adverse effect are rare and local when the instructions are respected.
The Best Premature Ejaculation Sprays
While Fortacin is backup by clinical trials that prove its efficacy, it needs a doctor prescription and can be expensive. It’s also only available in Europe. Promescent is an over-the-counter solution similar to Fortacin and available in the USA.
Both Fortacin and Promescent uses a eutectic mixture of lidocaine. This eutectic mixture means that it will delay your orgasm without numbing completely your penis. Another benefit of eutectic mixtures is that they are better absorbed by the skin. Therefore, there is less risk to accidentally desensitize your partner.
Also, as the biggest brand in the market, Promescent conveys a certain reputation and manufacturing standard. For those reasons, we can say it’s the best premature ejaculation spray. You can click here to read our Promescent review for the details.
However, there is one con to Promescent: it’s pricey.
If Promescent is a little expensive for you, you can find cheaper alternatives, but they won’t necessarily have the same brand quality seal that Promescent has. Still, there are three other big brands of PE sprays: KY-Duration, Stud 100 and Dynamo Delay. You are safe with any of those brands.
Since every spray deliver the same quantity of lidocaine per spray (11mg) there is no reason for a brand to be more effective than another. The concentration of lidocaine doesn’t impact the effectivness, but only how long your bottle will last. On this point, Dynamo Delay is the best spray. It’s the less expensive spray in terms of cost per dose.
Promescent vs KY Duration vs Stud100 vs Dynamo Delay
You can find here a comparative table between all the sprays.
Promescent The Standard | Promescent The Threesome | KY Duration Spray (1 pack) | Dynamo delay | Stud 100 | |
Bottles | (1 x 0.25 oz) | (3 x 0.25 oz) | (1 x 0.16 oz) | (1 x 0.75 oz) | (1 x 0.44 oz) |
ml | 7.4 | 22.2 | 5 | 22.2 | 12.9 |
Price | USD$ 59.95 | USD$ 159.95 | USD $27.59 | USD$ 14.95 | USD$ 15.95 |
Nb of Sprays | 60 | 180 | 36 | 270 | 120 |
Cost per usage* | USD$ 5.00 | USD$ 4.44 | USD$ 3.83 | USD$ 0.28 | USD$ 0.66 |
Active Ingredient | Eutectic Lidocaine | Eutectic Lidocaine | Lidocaine | Lidocaine | Lidocaine |
Concentration % | 7.7% | 7.7% | 9.6% | 13.0% | 9.6% |
Efficacity | Clinically Proved | Clinically Proved | to be determined | to be determined | |
Made in | USA | USA | Thailand | USA | UK |
Safe for Oral Sex | Yes, but you should wash to avoid the unpleasant taste | Yes, but you should wash to avoid the unpleasant taste | Only if washed before | Only if washed before | Only if washed before |
Could transfer to your partner | No | No | Not if washed before | Not if washed before | Not if washed before |
Numbing Sensation | Desensitize without numbing | Desensitize without numbing | Numb the penis | Numb the penis | Numb the penis |
*Based on a five sprays usage
Where to Buy Premature Ejaculation Sprays?
To get Fortacin, you first need a doctor prescription. You should never buy Fortacin without a prescription. You can end up with a counterfeit product that is unsafe for usage. If you live in the USA or Canada, you just can’t buy Fortacin yet. You should consider Promescent instead.
Promescent is available in some drugstores or online via their official website.
Other brands are available in physical sex-shops and online. You can also buy premature ejaculation sprays on Amazon. You can find the main brands here.
Premature Ejaculation Sprays vs Other Delay Products
Other than premature ejaculation sprays, other products exist on the market to delay ejaculation. You can find those other products and how they compare to sprays on the best premature ejaculation products page.
Sources:
- AHFS Drug Information 2007. McEvoy GK, ed. Benzocaine. Bethesda, MD: American Society of Health-System Pharmacists; 2007: 2844-5
- Lidocaine Hydrochloride (Local)”. The American Society of Health-System Pharmacists. Archived from the original on 2015-09-06. Retrieved Aug 26, 2015
- Sharlip ID (2006), Guidelines for the diagnosis and management of premature ejaculation. J Sex Med. 2006 Sep;3 Suppl 4:309-17.
- Henry R, Morales A (2003) Topical lidocaine-prilocaine spray for the treatment of premature ejaculation: a proof of concept study. lnt J Imp Res 15:277–81 , Dinsmore WW, Hackett G, Goldmeier D et al (2007) Topical eutectic mixture for premature ejaculation (TEMPE): a novel aerosol-delivery form of lidocaine-prilocaine for treating premature ejaculation. BJU lnt 99:369–375, Dinsmore WW, Wyllie MG (2009) PSD502 improves ejaculatory latency, control and sexual satisfaction when applied topically 5 min before intercourse in men with premature ejaculation: results of a phase III multi-centre, double-blind, placebo-controlled study. BJU Int 103:940–949, Carson C, Wyllie MG (2010) Improved ejaculatory latency, control and sexual satisfaction when PSD502 is applied topically in men with premature ejaculation: results of a phase III, double-blind, placebo-controlled study. J Sex Med 9:3179–3189
- Mark KP, Kerner I (2016). Event-level impact of Promescent on quality of sexual experience in men with subjective premature ejaculation. Int J Impot Res. 2016 Nov;28(6):216-220. doi: 10.1038/ijir.2016.31. Epub 2016 Aug 25.
- Martyn-St James M, Cooper K, Ren K, et al. Topical anaesthetics for premature ejaculation: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Sex Health. 2016 Apr;13(2):114-23., Cooper K, Martyn-St James M, Kaltenthaler E, et al. Interventions to treat premature ejaculation: a systematic review short report. Health Technol Assess. 2015 Mar;19(21):1-180, v-vi., Xia JD, Han YF, Zhou LH, et al. Efficacy and safety of local anaesthetics for premature ejaculation: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Asian J Androl. 2013 Jul;15(4):497-502.