We’re often told that you should never eat anything (or put anything on your body) if you don’t recognize everything on the ingredients list. But since most of us have no idea what xanthan gum or potassium benzoate are — or more importantly, what they’re doing to our bodies — we’re decoding the ingredients in the many things Americans put in (and on, or near) themselves.
This edition: SWISS NAVY ENDURANCE RX desensitizer spray, which is made from five separate ingredients that we’ve broken down in the exact order they appear online.
The Ingredients
1) Lidocaine: Lidocaine — a powerful local anesthetic that you might have encountered at the dentist — is the one and only active ingredient in this cock duster. It works by blocking sodium channels, which prevents local neurons from sending sensation signals to the brain. See, feelings are produced when nerve receptors are stimulated — and that stimulation transports sodium into the nerve endings, causing the buildup of an electrical signal. That signal then migrates to the brain, where it can be interpreted as a certain sensation. But lidocaine blocks sodium from penetrating the nerve endings, precluding the buildup of electrical signals, and therefore, sensation altogether.
Each ENDURANCE RX spray contains 10 milligrams of lidocaine, a relatively low dose, hence the reason SWISS NAVY recommends showering your peen with at least three squirts before any action. How long the numbness will last depends on the person and the application, but you can expect at least some degree of insensitivity for up to 90 minutes.
Most importantly, though, you need to pay attention to the instructions on the package, which emphasize not exceeding 10 sprays and making sure to wash away any excess residue. As the National Capital Poison Center explains, “Ingestion of lidocaine can cause numbness of the mouth and throat, which can lead to trouble swallowing and even choking. If a substantial amount is ingested, enough can be absorbed into the bloodstream to affect vital organs, primarily the brain and heart.” In which case, keeping the dose to a minimum and washing away any excess is especially important if you expect to engage in sexual mouthplay of any kind.
As a more general warning, know that lidocaine-based dick sprays are somewhat frowned upon. As I previously emphasized in my article about lasting longer in bed, “Having a mostly numb dick can prevent you from feeling tears or pains that would otherwise tell you that something’s going wrong. On the less dramatic side, being able to feel sensation down there is necessary for being able to tell how the sex is going (and where it should go from there). Also: Lidocaine might not be very effective anyway.”
Just putting that out there.
2) Deionized Water: Deionized (aka demineralized) water has had impurities, like bacteria and microorganisms, removed. Therefore, this basically acts as a base for the lidocaine.
3) Alcohol: Alcohol has several uses in cosmetics — namely, as both a preservative and carrier, helping deliver other ingredients (lidocaine, in this case) into the skin. Alcohol can, however, cause dryness and irritation, neither of which you want to deal with — especially down there.
4) Aloe Vera Powder: This is a powder made from the dried leaf and inner gel of the aloe plant. In cosmetics — and lubes! — aloe vera is a common moisturizer and lubricant that may help prevent some of the irritation and dryness that could be caused by the alcohol.
5) Glycerin: Glycerin is a common ingredient in lube, since it helps make them more slippery — it works as a humectant, meaning it encourages the skin to retain water. The big downside is, since glycerin is a sugar alcohol, which can serve as a food source for microbes, it has the capacity to contribute to an overgrowth of yeast, and therefore, yeast infections in women. Yikes.
The Takeaway
There are several inactive ingredients in this delay spray that might be cause for concern — namely, glycerin and alcohol, both of which have the capacity to cause more problems down under than fix them. More importantly, though, while lidocaine can numb the hell out of your peen — and whoever is on the receiving end of it — that might just make sex plain boring and possibly dangerous.
The honest truth is, while this might seem like a useful product, especially if you suffer from premature ejaculation, there are plenty of other options worth trying first.
And by other options, I mean cock rings.
Ian Lecklitner
Ian Lecklitner is a staff writer at MEL Magazine. He mostly writes about everyone's favorite things: Sex, drugs and food.
