A recent study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention showed that just a third of single American men affirmed they wear condoms every time they have sexual encounters, and one of the most common reasons not to use them was because of how uncomfortable these are for them.
Now, the Food and Drug Administration and a group of companies decided to change a little bit their schemes to create and sell new custom-fit condoms in 60 sizes, which come in ten lengths and nine circumferences.
Indiana University researchers saw around 2,000 men and revealed that the average length of an American penis is 5.57 inches. But the standard condom measures around one inch more, and most of the men feel that these 6.69 inches-long condoms “slip off” from them. This, of course, makes them not to wear protection, leaving them exposed to sexually transmitted diseases and the possibility to get some woman pregnant.
This is not the first time that a company tries to lower the length of condoms. In 2013, many gave their opinions on the matter in a Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation’s competition. But the costs the FDA requires to test one of them are so high, most of the ideas just stayed on hold without prospering. It seems that finally one of them decide to make a difference in the race eventually, and it will probably remain at the top of it for quite a while.
“After years of dedication and hard work, we are thrilled to announce a condom that will finally address complaints about fit,” Davin Wedel, president of myONE Condoms, said in a media release. “You might be able to squeeze your large hands into a size-small glove, but that doesn’t mean it will be comfortable to wear.”
Global Protection Corp. urged the FDA and industry standard associations to make changes on the measures of the condoms. The company’s president, Davin Wedel, said that they precisely focused on the fact that the average length of American penises is one inch shorter than the standard condoms. Now, many would be able to manufacture different condoms of different size-combinations. It would be just a matter of time to see if this new changes will work or not.
Debby Herbenick, a sexual health expert at Indiana University, said that 83 percent of all the total of men she and her group studied to find which the average penis’ size is didn’t fill the size of condoms. When talking about this form of protection, she said that they had to be “long enough to fit most men,” and that the “excess length could just be rolled.”
Additionally, a vice president for research and evaluation at the nonprofit Essential Access Health, Ron Frezieres, said that “condoms tend to slip off.” Frezieres also noted that larger condom sometimes feel extremely tight for shorter men because they have to wear them with a “big roll of latex at the base of the penis.”
A myONE for every American
Mr. Wedel owns myONE Perfect Fit, the special custom condoms which come in 60 different sizes. Normal condoms typically are 6.7 to 8.3 inches long and 3.9 to 4.5 inches in circumference. But he said that the myONE condoms come in lengths of 4.9 to 9.4 inches and circumferences of 3.5 to 5 inches.
Custom condoms are not marked with the inches in the front of their presentations. Like bras, myONE uses numbers and letter randomly ordered – like E99, another Z22. This is a way to keep the customers’ privacy.
Shawn Reimund, 34, of Austin, Tex., ordered and bought a B17 myONE. When asked about standard condoms, he said that “the length was frustrating because you would get a lot of sliding,” and excess latex would be “cutting off your circulation. I compare it to an anaconda wrapping around you.” Also, “sometimes the girth just wasn’t enough.”
As myONE, there are other ideas trying to reach the market. Some will ultimately help men equally as condoms, but others will leave the customer very exposed when using them.
The Galactic Cap, for example, is a polyurethane number that only covers the tip and attaches with medical adhesive. However, it is not approved by the FDA because it’s not tested thoroughly yet. In fact, the same manufacturer and California inventor, Charles Powell, said that his product will not entirely protect the customer against sexual diseases and that it sometimes hurts when men take off the adhesives from their penises.
Powell still keeps selling them for a $20 price “flying under the F.D.A. radar.” He said that he is going to move his operation “across the border into Mexico” if he’s discovered.
Source: The New York Times