Phexxi marketing material is misleading - Half as effective as advertised!

[ahcadvocacy]

Burning genitalia aside, Phexxi is presenting their product as 86% effective with typical use... based on their 7 month clinical study. From their own product information:

The estimated Pearl Index, calculated based on data from the 7-cycle study, was 27.5 (95% CI: 22.4%, 33.5%).

So, 27.5% failure rate over the course of a year with typical use. Less like a condom, more like withdrawal in terms of effectiveness. Planned parenthood quoted their seven-month result as the result from one year of use because of their misleading information. The Pearl index is a standard, most people would assume they mean a year. Shoutout to /@rebekahlynn who caught it as well.

I wish it were better! I'm all for more options! But it looks like it would be best used in combination with other methods. In the mean time, their marketing material is telling people it is twice as effective as it actually is. What can you do to help? If you're getting ads, report them - on Facebook and Instagram this falls under False Information > Health. Keep 'em honest! ETA: Ah, you can report em on youtube as well if you want.

Thanks!

ETA: Here's Dr. Jen Gunter on the matter for anybody who continues to be confused about this.

ETA2: Much older article about the limitations

 

[prayer4life]

@ahcadvocacy Thank you! I was so skeptical of the people shilling this stuff online! Someone suggested to me that the enthusiasm about it on social media was mostly coming from investors, not from potential users, and honestly that’s probably true because most women I know who use contraception, myself included, would not be comfortable with the worse-than-condoms effectiveness. Not to mention the insane cost.

 

[jjw]

@prayer4life There was one dude pushing it here recently and he also posts in subs about the stocks of the product. Sooooo

 

[prayer4life]

@jjw Yeah I’m pretty sure I had a heated convo with him (or someone similar to him) a few months ago on my alt account. He was basically mansplaning vaginal/reproductive health to me. He tried to claim Phexxi was more effective than the pill by comparing Phexxi’s perfect use rate (93%) to the pill’s typical use rate (91%), when in reality, if you compare perfect use to perfect use and typical use to typical use, Phexxi clearly performs worse than most contraceptives on the market. I also said that Phexxi’s ingredients may be irritating/allergenic to some women, and he said that’s impossible because it’s formulated for the pH of the vagina. Last I checked, pH isn’t what causes allergic reactions. Honestly it just pissed me off that this unqualified dude was giving medical advice based on his financial interests.

 

[jjw]

@prayer4life Unqualified dude who obfuscates the facts cuz he just cares about his bottom line. Ugh. I'm sorry you had to deal with that.

Phexxi is specifically advertised as changing vaginal pH and that it's how it functions as a bc. To claim it doesn't do that goes against how the product claims to work! The ingredients are literally citric acid, lactic acid, and cream of tartar, all of which are acidic. Change in pH can cause irritation (some people experience burning sensations) and potentially throw off your natural flora which can lead to infections. And of course there's always a potential for allergic reactions with any product.