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Europe approves first saliva-based contraceptive – no pill required
- Metacelsus 1y agotldr: it's not contraception at all, just a cycle tracking app with salivary progesterone tests
- deleted 1y ago[deleted]
- Propelloni 1y agoYeah, it is a medical device and has been approved as such by the UK standard body. Not "Europe" by a far stretch and certainly not EU.
- croes 1y agoIt must be some kind of EU approval or how would you explain > Following the regulatory approval, Innie’s birth control is now available for purchase in Germany and Austria, with plans to expand to the UK later this year
- BrandoElFollito 1y agoI think that just the fact that you can buy it does not make it a medical device. You can buy contraceptive devices such as a larger con you press between your knees (just kidding) but they would not be medically approved as contraceptives.
- alwa 1y agoAnd more than a little Juicero energy, for a lateral flow strip: “Inne’s technology uses a lateral flow strip similar to those used in COVID-19 or pregnancy tests. Users place a small amount of saliva on the strip, which contains antibodies that bind to progesterone hormones. The strip is then inserted into a matchbox-sized reading device that takes photos of the strip over 10 minutes, analysing how hormone particles move and develop across the strip. The reader processes these photos using biochemistry and image processing techniques to determine hormone intensity, which is then synced to a companion mobile app.”
- rahimnathwani 1y agoYour comment reminded me of this 'digital' pregnancy test: https://giddi.net/posts/a-look-inside-a-digital-pregnancy-test/ https://giddi.net/posts/a-look-inside-a-digital-pregnancy-te...
- FalconSensei 1y ago> which is then synced to a companion mobile app. So basically an even worse (for the users) form of tracking someone's cycle, in terms of privacy
- noname120 1y ago> up to 100% effective That doesn't mean anything, 0% is included in “up to 100%”.
- cheshire_cat 1y agoIn case anyone else is wondering, that's their page: https://inne.io/pages/contraception https://inne.io/pages/contraception
- slau 1y agoThis is actually a crazy important development if the results can be reproduced in larger studies. Hormonal contraceptives are absolutely terrible. None of my long term partners were happy with them—whether it was a hormonal implant, hormonal IUD or pill, the side effects have always been ridiculous. In addition, WHO classified oral contraceptives as G1 carcinogens. So having a potential alternative is incredibly important. It is insane to me that as a society, we’re fine asking women to “just take drugs” that mess with their reproductive system, affecting their mood, sleep, weight, libido, and blood pressure (and most likely a lot more I’m not aware of).
- 123yawaworht456 1y agowhich society is that? who are those 'we'?
- BrandoElFollito 1y agoMy wife is very happy with her IUD. She had terrible menstrual pains and now it's all gone, including the blood (and related surprises). So it depends on the person. I would be super happy to use similarly effective male contraceptives.
- slau 1y agoYeah, that was my point, but obviously not very clear. It feels to me like male contraceptive offerings are basically non-existent, and that there is basically no research/innovation in that field because it’s sort of expected that women will shoulder that burden.
- Aeolun 1y agoI feel like it’s more that woman have a significantly higher incentive to make it happen. Even if male contraceptives existed (in pill form), chances are they wouldn’t be nearly as effective, since the men just aren’t the ones that end up with the child if they’re acting unsafe. You’d be mostly relying on goodwill for your contraception.
- hagbard_c 1y agoHm, not having read the article yet I had a quick vision of a product which gives a person such bad halitosis that the chance of successful procreation is reduced to an absolute minimum. No pill required, indeed.
- joezydeco 1y agoA long, long time ago I worked for a pharma company that had a very large diagnostics division. hCG tests were their bread and butter. It was proposed more than once that the pregnancy testing systems could easily be converted to a conception advisor. The lawyers immediately swooped in and feared that people would use it as a birth control system (e.g. go for it on the days it says you're NOT fertile). The liability was too much for them to take.
- jawns 1y agoThe headline is somewhat misleading. The device tracks progesterone levels via saliva. It's currently possible to track those levels via urine or blood, but saliva is probably the most convenient. But here's the catch. If you desire to avoid pregnancy, you avoid sexual activity during the fertile window that the device indicates. This is known as a fertility awareness method, and in Catholic circles it's also known as natural family planning. It is not a contraceptive in the sense that it allows you to have sex during the fertile part of your cycle but not get pregnant.
- Aeolun 1y agoYeah, I thought about that while reading too. The big benefit of the contraceptive pill is that it allows you to not think about it at all.
- samus 1y agoExcept that one has to take it daily and that one also experiences its side effects daily.
- spookie 1y agoRead the article, they mention its side effects.
- Aeolun 1y agoI’m sure some people suffer from negative side effects, they’ve just never been described as anything but good to me by the women involved (mainly less intense periods).
- Yeul 1y agoHa only if you are male. There are many side effects.
- FalconSensei 1y agoyeah, but there are a lot of side effects and not everyone can take it.
- jonplackett 1y ago‘Up to’ 100% effective is the most pointless description I’ve ever heard.
- AnimalMuppet 1y agoNo, it can get worse. I've seen "up to X% off, or even more!" sometimes.
- jonplackett 1y agoThey’re both equally useless since the most useless X could be is… 100.
- j1elo 1y ago€21/month [1], and that's only if you pony up €500 upfront for a 2-year subscription... otherwise the shortest commitment is for €33/month... I wouldn't dare question the usefulness of this without much more reading, but the first impression I had when seeing the product page reminded me of the overpriced ink subscription for printers. [1]: https://inne.io/products/minilab-subscription https://inne.io/products/minilab-subscription
- fjfaase 1y agoNow that women delay their first pregnancy till their early thirthies, they often experience problems with getting pregnant when they are ready for it, especially when they are having a busy life with a job. Knowing when you are fertile, which is in the days before the egg is releases, is important knowledge if you want to become pregnant. The stress related to not getting pregnant makes things worse. Many IVF treatments could be avoided if women had a simple and reliable method for knowing when they are fertile.
- ta12653421 1y agoDo not know, but AFAIK there are valid methods to meassure & detect the cycle valid, though most are not aware of?
- habinero 1y agoHuh? This is not at all accurate. There are simple and reliable methods, they're used all the time. I promise you, women understand their cycles quite well and absolutely nobody jumps right to IVF (which costs tens of thousands of dollars) without exhausting cheaper options first. Also the old canard of "just relax and it will happen" is just that: an old wives tale.
- AndrewOMartin 1y agoThere already exists a saliva-based method that's all but guaranteed to avoid pregnancy.