While there are a variety of contraceptive methods that women can use in order to ensure that they don’t get pregnant, the only two options available to men are the use of condoms or a vasectomy. Both of these have their drawbacks as condoms have a significant failure rate while a vasectomy can have complications and may not be able to be reversed.
Men could soon be able to choose a completely new option that offers far more protection than a condom and can be easily reversed. Unfortunately, it does involve having two injections close to the scrotum, as it works by having a special material injected into sperm carrying tubes. This gel prevents any sperm from able to pass through the tube into the testicles and can be dissolved if you want to have children by another small injection.
The treatment, called Valsalgel, is modification to a method that was first invented in India in the 1970s and trialed as a birth control method in 2002 under the name RISUG. Unexpected side effects led to the previous injection being scrapped, but the new Valsalgel has so far been successful in trials.
Aaron Hamlin, executive of the Male Contraceptive Initiative, explained the benefits of the contraceptive, “There’s nothing for you as a person to screw up. When you have a method that doesn’t require you to do anything, like Vasalgel, you get the injection into the vas deferens and walk out the door.”
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