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A first-of-its-kind product aimed to boost women's libido using the same active ingredient as Viagra was released on Wednesday (December 10), the New York Post reports.
Daré Bioscience launched Dare to Play, a cream intended to enhance blood flow to female genital tissue to spark arousal using sildenafil, Viagra's active ingredient that increases blood flow to improve erectile function in men. The topical treatment is reported to fill a long-overlooked need as studies show that women experience sexual dysfunction as commonly as men, according to Sabrina Martucci Johnson, president and CEO of Daré Bioscience.
“We have this scientific evidence that sildenafil as an active ingredient can work if only it were designed and formulated specifically with women in mind,” Johnson told the New York Post, “and that’s really then where we came into the equation.”
Research shared by the Mayo Clinic shows that more than 40% of women experience some form of sexual dysfunction, with arousal issues, formally known as female sexual interest/arousal disorder (FSIAD), among the most common complaints. FSIAD is reported to arise from varying issues including hormonal changes from pregnancy or menopause, stress, medication use, diabetes, depression or past sexual abuse and is typically combatted by psychotherapy, stress reduction techniques or flibanserin, a medication that balances brain chemicals serotonin, dopamine and norepinephrine to spark sexual desire.
Dare to Play varies from flibanserin as it targets physical symptoms rather than mental, helping blood vessels in the clitoris and vulva relax and open, resulting in increased genital blood flow and improved lubrication and swelling responses.
“It’s the blood flow that goes to the genital tissue that causes tingling, warmth, engorgement,” Johnson said. “It actually is what leads to the lubrication response in arousal in women, because that’s all mediated from the blood flow to the tissue.