Which Home Remedies for Premature Ejaculation Work?
Tired of dealing with premature ejaculation (PE)? Wondering if premature ejaculation hypnosis is your last hope for treatment? You’re not alone. Premature ejaculation is a common sexual issue for men, with research suggesting that approximately one in every three adult men is affected at some point in life.
Premature ejaculation can occur for a variety of reasons, from anxiety about ejaculating early during sex to physical issues such as penile sensitivity, hormonal fluctuations or inflammation that affects your urethra or prostate.
The good news is that premature ejaculation can almost always be treated using medications such as paroxetine (the active ingredient in Paxil®), sertraline (Zoloft®) and topical treatments like our lidocaine-based Delay Spray for Men.
Some of these treatments, such as paroxetine and sertraline, work by changing the way your brain behaves during sexual activity.
Others, such as lidocaine-based sprays, creams and condoms, work by reducing your penis’s sensitivity level and helping you avoid reaching orgasm too quickly.
But what about home remedies for successfully dealing with premature ejaculation? We often hear about pelvic floor exercises, masturbating prior to sex and some health supplements, but are these options actually effective?
Below, we’ve listed the countless home remedies that are used to treat premature ejaculation and increase stamina.
For each remedy, we’ve looked at the scientific evidence to work out if it’s worth trying to slow down ejaculation, improve your sexual function and help you have more satisfying, enjoyable sex with your partner.
Home Remedies for Premature Ejaculation: Pills & Supplements
There are all types of premature ejaculation pills and supplements out there, including nutritional supplements available online.
However, how many of them are actually offer real benefits when it comes to increasing sexual stamina and preventing PE? Currently, research has yet to find an effective herbal remedy that prevents premature ejaculation.
One supplement that’s often recommended as a natural treatment for premature ejaculation is zinc. Zinc is associated with numerous health benefits in men, including stimulating production of testosterone in men with hypogonadism.
In fact, in a study published in the journal Nutrition, researchers observed an increase in serum testosterone levels when men used a zinc supplement.
However, there’s currently no evidence that zinc supplementation increases sexual stamina or prevents premature ejaculation.
Does this mean a zinc supplement isn’t helpful? Of course not. Zinc is one of the most effective and important minerals for men, and it has numerous potential benefits within your body.
However, despite zinc’s potential benefits, there isn’t yet any high quality research to suggest it delays ejaculation in men with PE.
Another mineral that’s been linked to premature ejaculation is magnesium. Some research has found that being deficient in magnesium may affect your sexual health, possibly contributing to premature ejaculation.
In a 2001 study, researchers compared the magnesium content in the sperm of normal, healthy men with the sperm of men affected by premature ejaculation.
The researchers found that the men with premature ejaculation had lower levels of magnesium in their sperm than their peers, suggesting that magnesium levels may have an impact on some aspects of male sexual function.
In the study, the researchers theorized that low magnesium levels could cause vasoconstriction (narrowing of the blood vessels, reducing blood flow) and reduce nitric oxide levels in the penis, which may contribute to reduced sexual function.
They also speculated that magnesium may play a role in transporting semen properly within the reproductive system.
So, are there any foods that help to treat premature ejaculation? Magnesium-rich foods such as green leafy vegetables, fruits, legumes, nuts and seeds, as some types of fish (such as salmon) may offer certain benefits for your sexual health and functioning.
However, there isn’t yet any scientific research that links magnesium supplements or foods that are rich in magnesium with improvements in premature ejaculation.
Does this mean that certain foods and supplements aren’t helpful? Of course not. Both zinc and magnesium offer real benefits, especially for men. Just don’t expect either type of supplement to increase your ejaculation time overnight, especially without other types of treatment.
Premature Ejaculation Prevention Techniques
While science hasn’t yet identified specific foods and supplements that can reduce the severity of premature ejaculation, research has found that some do-it-yourself techniques offer benefits for sexual stamina and performance.
These include exercises that strengthen your pelvic floor muscles, as well as simple techniques that you can perform during sex to reduce sensation and delay ejaculation.
Pelvic Floor Exercises
Pelvic floor exercises, or kegel exercises, are simple exercises that you can perform at home to strengthen the muscles located between your pubic bone and tailbone.
These muscles sit under your bladder and bowel. Not only do they support your ability to control your urination and bowel movements, but they also appear to assist with control over ejaculation and healthy erections.
By strengthening your pelvic floor muscles, you may be able to improve your sexual health and reduce the severity of premature ejaculation.
For example, a study published in the journal Therapeutic Advances in Urology found that men with lifelong premature ejaculation achieved a longer intravaginal ejaculatory latency time (IELT, or time to ejaculation) after six months of pelvic floor rehabilitation exercises.
Another study published in the journal BJU International found that 40 percent of men aged 20 and older with erectile dysfunction showed improvements in erectile function after three months of pelvic floor training.
You can train your pelvic floor muscles at home in just a few minutes a day. To get started, try to identify your pelvic floor muscles by trying to stop the next time you urinate. You’ll feel muscles in your bladder and lower pelvis tighten -- these are your pelvic floor muscles.
While seated and relaxing, try to tense these muscles, then relax them. Repeat this process for a few minutes by tightening your muscles, counting to 10, then relaxing them and counting to 10 again.
You can perform these exercises three to five times per day for 10 repetitions to strengthen your pelvic muscles and increase your level of control over this part of your body. Make sure to empty your bladder before performing these exercises to avoid discomfort or injury.
Our full guide to pelvic floor exercises for men goes into more detail about the benefits of pelvic floor training, as well as techniques that you can use to strengthen your pelvic floor muscles.
The “Stop-Start” Strategy
The stop-start strategy is a simple way to avoid ejaculating early. It involves stopping movement when you feel orgasm approaching, then starting again once you feel confident you aren’t about to ejaculate.
Performed right, the stop-start strategy can help you last longer in bed without using medication to delay orgasm.
However, it’s important to get the timing right. Stop too late and there’s a real risk that you could orgasm early, rendering the strategy ineffective. Continuing before you feel confident that you’re not about to orgasm could also create significant risk of early climax.
Although research is limited in scope and quality, science tends to back up the effectiveness of the stop-start strategy as a method for treating PE, at least in the short term.
In one article published in the journal Therapeutic Advances in Urology, researchers noted that 45 to 65 percent of men who use the stop-start strategy report improvements in the short term, although only 25 percent of men still show improvements after three years.
Still, thanks to its simplicity and the fact that it costs absolutely nothing to perform, the stop-start strategy is worth a try if you have PE that you’d like to treat without using medication.
The “Squeeze” Technique
Another option for treating premature ejaculation by yourself is the squeeze technique. Like the stop-start strategy, the squeeze technique has been used for decades as a method of delaying ejaculation and extending the duration of sex.
The squeeze technique is exactly what it sounds like -- during sex, as you begin to feel orgasm and ejaculation approaching, gently squeeze at the head of your penis to reduce sensation and give yourself some time to feel less aroused.
While there’s no specific length of time to squeeze your penis, most sources suggest about 30 seconds. Like the stop-start technique, the squeeze technique can be used as many times as you’d like during sex, letting you delay ejaculation for a fairly long period of time.
Now, does the squeeze technique actually work for PE? Like the stop-start strategy, there’s not a lot of long-term scientific data on the squeeze technique’s effectiveness.
However, it’s been a widely recommended technique since the 1950s and an anecdotal favorite for men affected by PE. It’s also an easy technique that you can use at home to see if it helps to slow down the process of reaching orgasm and ejaculating.
Masturbating Before Sex
Another simple, do-it-yourself technique for preventing premature ejaculation and lasting longer in bed is to masturbate before you plan to have sex.
Although there’s no high quality research to support the benefits of masturbating prior to sex for increasing ejaculation time, many guys claim that it’s effective.
The theory behind this technique is that masturbating causes you to enter your refractory period -- a post-ejaculation period in which you’ll find it more difficult (or, in some cases, impossible) to reach orgasm again until you’re able to recover.
Timing is important with this technique. While waiting an hour might make having sex easier, it’s important to give your body enough time to recover in order to avoid sexual performance issues, such as erectile dysfunction (ED).
It’s also important to keep in mind that you may feel less interested in having sex for a few hours after you masturbate.
As such, you may want to experiment a few times to find out how long it usually takes you to get back your interest in sex while still being able to maintain the sexual stamina benefits of being in your refractory period.
Chinese Herbal Medicine
If you’ve ever searched online for natural treatments for premature ejaculation, you might have come across recommendations for Chinese traditional remedies.
In traditional Chinese medicine, premature ejaculation is thought to be related to spleen, kidney and blood issues.
Many Chinese medicine treatments are intended to strengthen the kidneys and spleen, promote blood circulation and target other perceived root causes of premature ejaculation.
Although some ingredients used in Chinese traditional medicine might improve blood circulation throughout the body, there’s currently no high quality scientific evidence to suggest that Chinese herbal medicine increases sexual stamina or treats PE.
Extended Pleasure Condoms
If you’d prefer not to change your eating habits or use techniques to delay ejaculation, you might be able to increase your ejaculation time and avoid PE using special condoms.
Extended pleasure condoms, or numbing condoms, like Durex Performax® or Trojan Extended Pleasure® contain topical anesthetics that numb your penis when worn. During sex, this means you’ll feel a slightly less intense sensation, helping you avoid accidentally orgasming too early.
While there’s no direct scientific proof that these condoms can treat premature ejaculation, there is evidence that benzocaine -- the active ingredient in most extended pleasure condoms -- helps men last longer before ejaculating.
In a 2017 study, men with an average intravaginal ejaculatory latency time (IELT) of two minutes or less experienced an average increase of 231.5 seconds (almost four minutes) after using 4% topical benzocaine wipes for two months.
It’s also possible to delay ejaculation by using a thicker condom, which can lower sensation and helps you avoid reaching orgasm too early.
longer sex is yours for the taking
Evidence-Based Treatments for PE
While many home remedies offer mild benefits for premature ejaculation, the science is largely inconclusive when it comes to their actual effectiveness.
Luckily, there are several evidence-based treatments for premature ejaculation available, from over-the-counter creams, sprays and wipes to prescription medications that can delay orgasm and ejaculation.
Lidocaine Sprays, Creams and Wipes
One of the most effective ways to treat premature ejaculation is to apply an over-the-counter anesthetic to your penis before sex.
One such anesthetic is lidocaine, which reduces sensitivity in your penis and gives you more control over orgasm and ejaculation. Lidocaine is available as a topical spray, such as in our over-the-counter Delay Spray for Men.
By applying lidocaine around 15 minutes before sex, you can reduce sensitivity in your penis without causing too much numbing, letting you enjoy the pleasurable side of sex without any need to worry about ejaculating too early.
Another topical anesthetic, as mentioned above, is benzocaine -- the active ingredient in our easy-to-use Clockstopper Climax Delay Wipes.
Our guide to lidocaine spray for premature ejaculation goes into more detail about how these anesthetic products work, as well as how you can use them for additional sexual stamina and extra control over ejaculation.
Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors (SSRIs)
Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, or SSRIs, are prescription medications that are typically used to treat depression and anxiety. Some SSRIs are also used off-label to treat other medical conditions, including premature ejaculation.
Currently, two SSRIs are often prescribed as off-label PE treatments -- sertraline (Prozac) and paroxetine (Paxil). These medications can help to delay orgasm, giving you more control over your sensation level and ejaculatory reflex in bed.
You may benefit from using an SSRI if you have moderate to severe premature ejaculation that doesn’t improve with techniques, or if you don’t like the idea of using a spray or wipe before you have sex.
We offer sertraline and paroxetine online as treatments for PE, following a consultation with a licensed healthcare provider who will determine if a prescription is appropriate.
improve performance with doctor-trusted treatments
Can You Fix PE Naturally?
Premature ejaculation can be frustrating and stressful, both for you and for your sexual partner. It can affect everything from your sexual self-confidence to your relationship as a whole. Luckily, it’s a treatable condition that you don’t need to live with forever.
Natural treatments like healthy eating, dietary supplements and techniques that you can perform during sexual activity may help you to slow down orgasm and ejaculation, especially if you have mild or moderate PE.
However, if you have premature ejaculation that’s more severe or persistent, you’ll likely benefit from using an over-the-counter or prescription treatment.
We offer a range of premature ejaculation treatments online, including evidence-based products such as sprays, wipes and prescription medications.
You can also learn more about treating premature ejaculation and improving your sexual health in our full guide to stopping premature ejaculation for good.
This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute medical advice. The information contained herein is not a substitute for and should never be relied upon for professional medical advice. Always talk to your doctor about the risks and benefits of any treatment or medication.