Cream made from Viagra drug could help to increase women’s libidos and lead to better orgasms

A cream made from the same drug used in Viagra could work wonders for women’s libidos, a study shows.

Early results from a clinical trial in the US show women with sexual arousal disorder who rubbed the cream on their genitals had greater desire, heightened pleasure and better orgasms.

The cream is made with ­sildenafil – the same ingredient that turned Viagra into one of the world’s ­biggest-selling drugs.

Rubbed on 10 to 20 minutes before sex, it works by dilating tiny arteries just beneath the skin, boosting blood flow to the vagina.

This rush of oxygen-rich blood is what’s thought to get women in the mood for sex.

Early results from a clinical trial in the US show women with sexual arousal disorder who rubbed the cream on their genitals had greater desire, heightened pleasure and better orgasms (file pic)

It could help restore intimacy for many of the one in five UK women who suffer with low libido.

Viagra pills have transformed the love lives of millions of men around the world since the drug first emerged in the late Nineties.

The ‘little blue pill’ is being investigated as a possible treatment for a range of other conditions, from Alzheimer’s disease to heart failure. 

But treating female sexual disorder has been much more challenging.

Although there are two drugs licensed for it in the US – one is a tablet that can have severe side effects and the other an injection – neither is available in the UK.

Scientists from two independent American research companies, along with Dare Bioscience – the San Diego-based company that has developed the cream – recruited 33 women with sexual arousal disorder.

This is where there has been no sexual activity – or any interest in it – for at least six months.

The women were asked to either apply a fingertip amount of the cream shortly before sex, or an identical amount of a dummy cream that looked the same.

Before and after the three-month experiment, researchers questioned the women about their sex lives, assessing libido and sexual satisfaction levels.

The results, in the journal Obstetrics and Gynaecology, showed the scores for women using the Viagra cream improved considerably, with greater sexual desire, more pleasure and stronger orgasms.

But those using the placebo cream saw little or no change.

The researchers, who are planning bigger studies to see if the results can replicated, said: ‘Trials of sildenafil pills in women have shown marginal effectiveness and intolerable side effects. 

‘But a fast-absorbed cream could have fewer unwanted effects and a more immediate biological response.’