UCLA Doctor: Sex Enhancement Products Don’t Live Up To Hype

A urologist at the University of California, Los Angeles warns that most sex enhancement products do not live up to what they may be advertised to do.

Dr. Jennifer Berman, a urologist and the co-director of the Female Sexual Medicine Center at UCLA, says that men should be skeptical of the sexual enhancement products advertised in their email accounts on a regular basis.

First of all, most of them are not regulated by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), so there’s no way to verify if they really work and they have not been subject to federally mandated trials. She also adds that because of these factors that some could actually be dangerous.

“If you’re undergoing surgery… some of them can be associated with bleeding, you need to be aware of that,” Berman said. “Don’t take a chance on it. If you’re curious about one of these products, talk to your doctor.”

The UCLA doctor explained that while federally-approved Viagra has served to make sexual enhancement drugs more legitimate, it has also opened the door to companies that are trying to make a dollar on the trend.

The problem is, she said, that the sexual enhancement industry is largely unregulated, which makes it hard to figure out the exact scope of the market.

“Some of these companies will get 6,000 orders in a month for bottles of pills they’re charging $50 a bottle for,” Berman said. “It’s a huge market for them because they’re playing on men’s insecurities and their greatest wish and the thing they don’t want to talk to their doctors about. Just like women want to buy a magic wrinkle cream, men want a magic enhancement cream.”

A few of the drugs out there are Horny Goat Weed, Yohimbe and Viramax. Horny Goat Weed is popular in China and Japan and described as a botanical sexual enhancer. Yohimbe is a South African herb that is supposed to be a powerful aphrodisiac. Viramax is marketed an herbal Viagra, that is supposed to be effective for both men and women.

Products can vary is offering size enhancement to arousal. While some of these products are supposed to achieve results by enhanced blood flow, Berman explained that they are not all the same.

“Theoretically, what they do is enhance flow for arousal purposes, and then others have some mood-stabilizing, energy-producing products in them,” she said.

Laura Berman, Jennifer’s sister, is a sex therapist and director of the Berman Center in Chicago, says that she wouldn’t bet on successful results.

“They are really erection enhancers, not size enhancers. With an erection, there’s an increase in size, but that’s not because you’ve grown technically, it’s by virtue of the fact that you’ve increased blood flow, and it’s temporary,” she explained.

Jennifer Berman also warns against buying Viagra on the cheap that are often advertised in emails to men. She explained that since Viagra requires a prescription, that what someone may get is likely not authentic. At best, it’s just a sugar pill, but it could also be something dangerous.

If you or someone you know has purchased a sexual enhancement product and did not get the results that were advertised, legal help may be available to you. Submit your information at the Sex Enhancement, Sexual Arousal Products Class Action Investigation to see if you may qualify be compensated through a class action settlement.