The design of vaginal applicators should take into account features that positively affect consumer usage experience. This is a critical step toward promoting and increasing product adherence46. URL:https://getflowerpower.com/blogs/news/boric-acid-suppositories-heavy-bleeding

Aesthetics and visual product features may influence women’s perceptions of, liking for, and aversion to vaginal products51. For example, visual product features like shape and color tend to evoke symbolic meanings about the products themselves and their quality. Such connotations may be a barrier to use, especially if the product will be seen by sexual partners.

Design features should be aimed at making the product more desirable and reducing fears about stigma associated with the microbicides themselves, which can hinder their ‘de-medicalization’52.

Vaginal Odor: How to Tell When It’s Abnormal

Comfort in the body and grip surface are important aspects of product experience to consider for any vaginal product. The shape, size, and material of the applicator should be designed to be comfortable in the body and to have an aesthetically appealing grip surface.

Safety and acceptability should also be taken into consideration. This is a critical step for ensuring that women are safe and comfortable with using vaginal products, including microbicides.

Pelvic MRI was used to evaluate the distribution and mucosal coverage of six marketed vaginal gels and creams with our universal vaginal applicator (UVA) compared with their commercial applicator (CA). The UVA was filled with a single product for a single application to release the same amount of product in the vagina that each CA would release.