In a classic episode of Curb Your Enthusiasm, Larry David tries on an anesthetic-drenched “Everlast” condom in hopes that it will desensitize his penis so he can have sex all night. His plan backfires when he puts it on inside out, numbing his wife in the process. David hatched this half-baked plan in 2004, but recently doctors resurrected the idea, reporting that, yes, men embarrassed about [premature ejaculation](https://www.inverse.com/article/28010-anxiety-premature-ejaculation-stress-sex-science) actually could benefit from some penis numbing.
At a meeting of the American Urological Association (AUA) on May 13, a team of researchers described the successes of their study on a special pre-sex wipe, laced with a 4 percent solution of a mild anesthetic known as benzocaine. This compound, which is in the same chemical family as [cocaine](https://www.inverse.com/article/27469-cocaine-coke-sti-hiv-condoms-unsafe-sex) (hence its similarly numbing effect), is commonly found in treatments for sore throats and minor toothaches — low-intensity types of pain that could be relieved with some gentle desensitization.
Its mildness as an anesthetic makes it suitable for swiping onto the average pre-sex penis, whose owner presumably wants it to retain some semblance of feeling, even if he is in the 33 percent of men aged 18 to 59 in the United States who has sought treatment for premature ejaculation.
The study, led by mens’ sexual health expert Dr. Ridwan Shabsigh, was funded by Veru Healthcare, which makes the new wipes. It wasn’t a particularly large study — only 21 men were involved — but the researchers report that it was quite successful. In a statement, the team said that the men who used the wipes for two months had “significant improvement in premature ejaculation compared to those in the placebo group.”
“This data shows topical 4 percent benzocaine wipes is a promising therapy to treat the most common form of sexual dysfunction among men,” AUA spokesman Dr. Tobias Kohler said in a news release.
The study, however, didn’t address David’s key issue: Will the men who use them — and their partners — run into the same issue that he did on Curb Your Enthusiasm? After all, what is the point of having a preternaturally erect penis if your partner is too numb and pissed off to engage with it? In one review of treatment for premature ejaculation published in Sexual Medicine Reviews in 2015, Chris G. McMahon of the Australian Centre for Sexual Health reiterated David’s issue with topical numbing agents, a category that the wipes belong to:
Topical anesthetics may be associated with significant penile hypo-anesthesia and possible transvaginal absorption, resulting in vaginal numbness and resultant female anorgasmia unless a condom is used.
In other words, sure, putting benzocaine (or lidocaine, prilocaine, or a host of other chemical relatives) directly on your penis probably will help delay ejaculation but might also render a female partner unable to reach orgasm. (Word’s out on how this affects same-sex couples.)
Nevertheless, as David and Cheryl demonstrated in the episode, figuring out whether dick numbing is the best way to deal with premature ejaculation is probably a process best carried out with your partner, lest the penis-dulling wipes leave the both of you cold.
