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The first - ever over - the - counter topical treatment for erectile dysfunction ( ED ) has just been approved , the U.S. Food and Drug Administration ( FDA ) announced Monday ( June 12 ) .

Also known as impotence , EDis a consideration in which men are unable to get or keep an hard-on for sexual sexual intercourse . ED is common , affect about 30 million humanity in the U.S. , according to theNational Institutes of Health .

The male gender symbol pointing downwards

A new topical medication is the latest treatment for erectile dysfunction.

The new drug , name Eroxon , has received a " De Novo " classificationfrom the FDA , stand for it ’s the first gel or topical treatment for ED and the first ED intervention that is approachable without a doctor ’s prescription in the United States , according to astatement .

When a pea plant - size of it amount of the medicament is applied to the drumhead of the penis , the gel evaporates and cools the skin before bit by bit becoming affectionate , according toThe Washington Post .

The tight - do medicinal drug works in less than 10 minute and " has a low incidence of side effects , " which are limited to " local skin reaction . " It turn back ingredients such as ethanol ( intoxicant ) , glycerin ( also known as glycerol ) and carbomer ( polymers ) , according to theEroxon website .

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In the most late clinical trial , which include 96 human race , more than 60 % of the patient who used Eroxon experienced a " clinically meaningful improvement " in their ED , according toFutura Medical , the United Kingdom - ground companionship that raise the medicinal drug . A parallel mathematical group took the prescription drug Cialis ; while the tablet was salutary at amend ED , it take 30 to 60 minute to work .

" This is an alternative treatment in a novel commission that we think has efficacy,“Dr . Arthur Burnett , a professor of urogenital medicine and the director of the Basic Science Laboratory in Neuro - Urology at Johns Hopkins University and primary investigator of Eroxon ’s clinical trial run , told The Washington Post . " It ’s an intriguing fresh therapy , and I think it just lucubrate our range of discourse options . "

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However , some expert remain skeptical about its efficaciousness .

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" As a scientist , what I would look for is : ' Is there any statistical evidence that this is better than a placebo ? ' And I have n’t establish a paper on that yet that ’s been published,“Dr . Stanton Honig , a professor of urogenital medicine and the division chief of intimate and reproductive health at Yale School of Medicine , told The Washington Post .

While this study did n’t use an still placebo , previous studies used Eroxon as the placebo and compared it against ED drugs on the market .

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presently , the only treatments for powerlessness let in prescription drug pills such as Viagra and Cialis , as well as injections and surgery , allot to theMayo Clinic .

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