What are sex pills?

Generally, ‘sex pills’ is the name people give to pills taken for sex-related problems. ‘Sex pills’ are generally medications that work and are prescribed and recommended by doctors, but there are also unlicensed herbal pills that are sold over-the-counter. These aren’t proven to work, and are also not  properly checked to make sure they’re safe.

If you don’t have an actual sex-related problem and are just looking to improve your sex life, sex pills won’t be right for you.

Before thinking about what pill to try for your sex life, it’s important to think about how you would like it to improve and what might be the best and safest way to make it happen. Often, you can see big improvements to your sex life by making changes to your lifestyle, getting counselling or therapy, or talking things through with your partner.

What are the best sex pills available?

What are erection pills?

People usually think of 2 different outcomes when they talk about erection pills:

• Medication used to treat erectile dysfunction (ED)
• Pills which claim to increase maximum erection size (these don’t work)

Treating ED

• ED pills can help you if you can’t reach or stay at your natural maximum erection size, but they won’t increase your maximum erection size
• You will   find both ED medications which work, and herbal medication online which claim to, but don’t have any evidence confirming this
• If you suffer from ED and the pills are safe for you you can order ED medication online, or get it  from a pharmacist, or your GP

Improving your erection size

There aren’t any pills that can make your erection bigger than what it is naturally. Products that make this claim, are doing so falsely. There is no evidence that they work and they may even be dangerous to your health. The only way to increase your maximum erection size is through surgery.

What are male enhancement pills?

Generally speaking, ‘male enhancement pills’ describe pills marketed to men. They contain mixtures of different herbal ingredients, and sellers often claim they will improve sexual performance and/or increase penis size. 

There’s no medical proof that these kinds of pills do what they claim to, so you might want to think twice about buying and using them. If you do decide to use these pills, always make sure the seller is regulated and check that the pills have been approved by the right organisations. Ideally, you should also talk to your doctor first before trying these kinds of products.

Are male enhancement pills dangerous?

Possible side effects:

• Normally, medications are carefully checked – it’s clear what the ingredients are and how much of them they contain. This helps professionals decide whether the medication is safe for you and how much to prescribe.
• Male enhancement pills from unregulated sites aren’t checked in the same way, or may not be checked at all
• They may not contain what they claim to
• Even if the ingredients are correct, and the right amounts, the medication may contain other non-regulated ingredients.Because of this the side effects of these male enhancement pills and the seriousness of them can’t be predicted. Some ingredients found in these medications have been found to cause serious side effects

Taking unnecessary risks:

• Apart from possible side effects, the biggest downside to buying male enhancement pills is that they are unlikely to  work
• Only medications from regulated medical organisations are proven to safely help sex-related problems
• If you try male enhancement products like these, you may be putting yourself at risk of severe side effects, without any benefits
• Even if these pills aren’t dangerous, you are still paying for  medication likely to give you no results
• Claims that these products work isn’t based on scientific evidence at best, there might be one or two small studies that show some benefits, but no large studies confirming their effects will have been done. Due to this lack of evidence none of these male enhancement products would be recommended for you by a doctor or pharmacist

Are there sex pills for women?

Women can also get sex-related problems, these include: 

• Low sex drive
• Feeling pain during sex
• Having problems getting an orgasm

There’s currently no medication available in the UK specifically for treating sexual problems in women. But there are some medications that are available in other countries, that may work, but there’s still not enough proof available for them to be approved in the UK.

Flibanserin 

This medication is available in the US for low sex drive in women who haven’t yet gone through menopause. It’s been licensed since 2015, but it can’t be used for all causes of low sex drive. For example it can’t be used if the cause is a different medical condition or  problems with your relationship. The evidence for Flibanserin is mixed, so it’s difficult to know if this can actually  help improve the sex drive. 

Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs)

These medications are often prescribed for depression or anxiety, but can also be used for premature ejaculation in men. These medications may  help if your sex-related problems are being caused by a mental health problems such as depression or anxiety. SSRIs can also cause low sex drive as a side effect as well as reducing your ability to orgasm.

Prelox

This is a herbal product marketed at improving sex-related problems in women who’ve been through the menopause. Like with male enhancement products, using herbal products like Prelox isn’t a good idea and there is limited information about their safety and whether they work.

Sex therapy or counselling 

Stress and anxiety can have a big impact on your sex life. Talking to a sex therapist or counsellor could help you explore your problems and develop coping mechanisms to deal with some of the roots causes of your stress.

In all people lots of factors can affect your sex life. Physical causes should be ruled out and if there is any indication of mental health problems these should be explored and discussed with your GP. Relationship concerns can also cause sex related problems and should be discussed with your partner or organisations such as relate.Talking to a doctor or therapist could help diagnose a cause for your problems  as well as identifying what steps to take to start improving them.

Are there pills to help you last longer in bed?

The medications available can vary depending on the cause of your symptoms.

Pills to make your erections last longer

If you can’t get or keep an erection there are treatments available for you. Some of the licensed treatments for erection problems include Viagra, Sildenafil, Levitra, and Cialis.  

Pill to stop you ejaculating as quickly

If you can’t last as long as you want in bed because you’re coming too quickly, the medications available include antidepressants (like Lexapro, Paxil, or Priligy), or anaesthetic cream such as EMLA.

Pills to stop you getting tired in bed

If you find you are getting tired too quickly during sex there isn’t  any medication that can help, but we would recommend seeing your GP to ensure that your blood levels are all normal as tiredness can occur due to many factors including, dehydration, low salt levels, low iron, low vitamin D, low B12 or a low overall haemoglobin. If you don’t have time to see your GP you can always order a test-kit from Alpha XR online doctor to get these levels tested. You can also improve your physical fitness overall.

Other things you can do to improve your sex life

There are a few different lifestyle changes, treatments, techniques and so on, which can have a positive impact on your sex life, including:

• Topical treatments for premature ejaculation or erectile dysfunction: these include EMLA or alprostadil

• Techniques for premature ejaculation such as the ‘start-stop’ technique or the ‘squeeze’ technique

• Penis pumps or rings for erectile dysfunction

• Pelvic floor exercises

• Maintaining a healthy diet and weight

• Getting enough general exercise

• Counselling or therapy

• Getting a medications review to see if any of your current medications are causing your sexual problems

• Checking for any underlying health conditions – diabetes, thyroid problems etc, that might be causing your problems

Sources

• Hormone therapy (2019) The North American Menopause Society  [accessed 11 May 2020]

• Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) (2018) NHS [accessed 11 May 2020]