YOU ARE HERE:
Lubricants
Condoms are vital to safer sex. They act as a barrier to body fluids, and help to protect us from HIV. But often people use condoms `dry', that is without any lubricant on them, and this can create problems. The condom is more likely to slip, or tear, because of increased friction.
Anal fucking without lubricant can not only be hugely painful, it also greatly increases the risk of tears and cuts to the lining of the rectum as well as the risk of breakage of the condom.
During vaginal fucking, a woman produces natural lubricating fluids, but these may not be enough for safer condom use. The amount of fluid a woman produces changes throughout the menstrual cycle, and is influenced by several factors. It is quite natural for women to need additional lubrication for comfort as well as for safer sex.
The most important thing to remember is: - don't use oil-based lubricants with condoms: they weaken condoms drastically and dangerously within minutes! Often an oil-covered condom will split whilst you are fucking, so that you never realise it is burst or torn until after the event. If you are desperate to fuck, and only have oil-based lubricant to hand, then still don't use it. Spit is preferable.
On the other hand it is important to ensure that you are not `dry fucking'. The increased friction from this puts extra strain on the condom. Adequate lubrication can sometimes be ensured in vaginal fucking by means of plenty of `foreplay' but this is not always effective. Spit or water are not very good lubricants.
The wrong lubricants: oil-based
Anything made of rubber, from tyres to condoms, begins to rot and split when it comes into contact with anything oil-based. For many years, people have used oil-based `lubricants' that are found in any home as an aid to fucking.
But if you want to practice safer sex, or help to avoid pregnancy, by using condoms, then you should switch to using water-based lubricants. Examples of the wrong lubricants are:
- Oil
- Baby oil
- Corn oil
- Butter
- Margarine
- Crisco and other `vegetable fats'
- Vaseline
- Petroleum jelly
- Hand cream and body lotion.
It is important not to rely upon whether the lubricant will wash off your hands or not. There are certain lubricants that are oil-based which will wash off, giving the false impression that they are water-based.
Many ointments, creams, gels, vaginal pessaries or suppositories come in an oil-based medium as well. Your doctor will be able to tell you which prescribed treatments are oil-based. A leaflet detailing which ones are oil-based is also produced by Durex.
If you want to keep fucking, but have to use oil-based products, then you may want to consider using a Femidom instead of condoms (see female condoms and spermicides below).
The right lubricants: water-based
You can buy water-based lubricants, such as KY, Sutherland, Wet, Comfort, Probe, Astroglide or 121 at many chemists. There are also lubricants, such as Boots's own brand which explain that they are water-based on the packaging. Some people like different lubes because they stay wet for longer, and you might want to experiment.
Do not use lubricants that contain nonoxynol-9, as a recent study has shown the rate of HIV transmission was higher among a group of female prostitutes who were using this spermicide, compared to the group who were not.
If you are embarrassed about asking for lubricants you will find that nowadays you can just pick them up for yourself off the counter in the family planning section of most chemists.
List of recommended, water-based lubricants:
- BOOTS Lubricting Jelly: Water-based
- EROS: Silicone-based, oil-free formulation — safe for use with all condoms
- ID - Millenium: Silicone-based
- ID - Pleasure: Silicone-based, contains amino acid Arginine
- ID - Glide: Water-based
- K-Y Jelly: Water-based
- K-Y Liquid: Water-based, ideal for use with condoms
- LIQUID SILK: Doesn’t contain glycerine, available in sachets/pump
- WET STUFF: Water-based lubricant, available in bottle/tube/pump/sachets
- ONCORE: Homeopathic, water-based gel, available in tube/pump
Some common brand names of spermicide-containing lubricants are Duragel, Ortho-Gynol, Ortho Creme, Gynol II or Staycept Jelly. You can also get (usually) American imports such as ForPlay, Elbow Grease Gel or Liquid Lube.
Uncertainty about spermicidal lubricants
Prior to 2000 spermicidal lubricants, such as those containing nonoxynol-9, were widely recommended and used. But since 2000 there has been a growing body of evidence which has shown conclusively that nonoxynol-9 lubricants should not be used for vaginal or anal sex. Tests have shown that in the test-tube nonoxynol-9 can kill HIV. However, nonoxynol-9 can cause irritation to the internal vaginal and anal walls, and may cause local damage without the affected person knowing. This can be after one use, or repeated exposure. Such damage may make it easier for HIV to be transmitted because of abrasions.
A research report published in the journal AIDS in April 2003 suggested that gay men in San Francisco remain confused about the use of lubricants and condoms containing nonoxynol-9 despite warnings from public health authorities about the potential dangers of using such products.
Since 2000 the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the World Health Organisation (WHO) have made several public health statements clearly indicating that nonoxynol-9 (N-9) is not protective against HIV or sexually transmitted infection acquisition. Studies have also shown that N-9 causes rectal mucosa disruption in humans, so there has been particular concern about the continued use of N-9 by gay men engaging in anal sex.
Early prevention efforts misguidedly promoted the use of spermicides with condoms and many gay men selected N-9 products specifically for anal sex. Following the announcements from the WHO and CDC, researchers from the CDC in Atlanta and the AIDS office in San Francisco set about reassessing the recent use of N-9 among gay men for anal sex, awareness that N-9 may not be protective against HIV and whether or not gay men intended to use N-9 in the future, and if so, which factors were associated with its use.
During Autumn 2001 participants were recruited at multiple street locations and through community-based agencies in various sections. Participants were 18 years or older, lived or worked in the San Francisco Bay Area, and reported having had sex with another man in the previous 12 months, or self-identified as gay or bisexual. In total 573/1037 (55%) men who were eligible completed the survey.
The sample was ethnically diverse; 29% Latino, 28% African-American, 28% Caucasian, 15% other/mixed. Over one third of the sample (38%) were educated to high school diploma level or less, a further third (32%) had some post-high school education or training and just under a third (29%) had a university degree or higher. In total 38% were HIV-positive, 50% HIV-negative and 12% were unaware of their HIV status.
In total 61% had heard of N-9. Men who were HIV-positive or had a higher educational attainment were more likely to have heard of N-9. 55% of the 349 men aware of N-9 had heard in the previous year that it might not be protective against HIV; most commonly information had been acquired from newspapers (54%) and health agencies (50%).
A large proportion (83%) of the men who were aware of N-9 had used it in their lifetime, 67% of them had used it in the previous 12 months. Importantly, among men who had used N-9 in the past year, 41% did so without a condom since they had believed N-9 to be protective. Older men were more likely to report using N-9 without a condom.
Among the men who had heard of N-9, 18% said they definitely would not use an N-9 lubricant during anal intercourse in the future. Worryingly one quarter (24%) said they would use N-9 during anal sex in the future; those who had heard that N-9 may not be protective were les likely to say that they would use N-9 in the future.
This study provides the first information about N-9 use among gay men in an era of public health warnings about the use of N-9.
The authors note that it is essential that all gay men know about the dangers of using N-9 rectally; in particular, African-American men were shown to be in particular need of information to reduce their likelihood of knowingly using N-9. Gay men with unknown serostatus and Latino men are in need of targeted information to reduce potential unknowing use of N-9, since they were less likely to have heard of N-9 at all.
The authors suggest that “health officials should develop targeted educational campaigns to reduce consumer demand for N-9 products and increase demand for N-9-free lubricants and condoms among MSM (men who have sex with men).”
In September 2002, San Francisco Democrat Assemblyman Mark Leno called for legislative change to ban the sale of sexual lubricants containing N-9 in San Francisco.
Provisional advice about spermicidal lubricants
Spermicidal lubricants are not enough to protect you on their own and should not be used instead of condoms unless you absolutely have to. The emphasis has always been that they might offer a slight degree of extra protection, in case the condom failed. However, if your partner refuses to use a condom, and is going to fuck you anyway, you could use them.
You may decide that the possible benefit of spermicide if a condom breaks is too slight to warrant the possible risk of using it. Or you may decide that the possible risk of using it is too slight, and be unwilling to give up the possible extra protection.
Either way, you should take into account the possibility that dosage is the crucial factor in creating irritation, and your decision may well depend on how frequently you have sex, and whether you use extra spermicidal lubricant as well as the condom's own lubricant.
If you do experience irritation or inflammation after using spermicide in fucking, it would clearly be sensible not to use it and to switch to an ordinary water-based lubricant. Bear in mind however that irritation may not be sensed, but may be causing damage to the tissue of the vagina or the rectum to such an extent that lesions may nevertheless result.
One way of testing whether the spermicide will cause a reaction is by testing it on your skin (at your wrist, for instance) and seeing if it causes irritation. This isn't a foolproof method as more sensitive internal tissue may still react badly even when your skin doesn't. You could try fucking yourself with a dildo that has a spermicidal condom on it, to see if you get a reaction or not.
Replens
A recently-launched product on the market, Replens is a `super lubricant', designed to help post-menopausal women who find that their vaginal juices are too limited to help with fucking, or who are generally dry and need lubrication. Replens lasts for a long time, and although based on palm oil, it does not affect rubber. Tests by Durex on Replens with condoms registered no damage.
Don't use nonoxynol-9 coated condoms
In September 2002 the Global Campaign for Microbicides launched a public 'Call to discontinue nonoxynol-9 for rectal use'. This is based on concerns, set out by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the World Health Organisation, that this widely-used spermicide causes damage to the lining of the rectum when used for anal sex, significantly increasing the risk of HIV and other STI transmission.
The call has been backed by leading scientists in the field and by many HIV, AIDS, gay and women's organisations including all of the main microbicide advocacy groups, the American Foundation for AIDS Research (amFAR), the Family Planning Association (UK), International HIV/AIDS Alliance, International AIDS Vaccine Initiative, National AIDS Trust, Terrence Higgins Trust, and the US Gay and Lesbian Medical Association.
The call demands that manufacturers discontinue the sale of condoms and sexual lubricants containing nonoxynol-9, while continuing to supply over-the-counter spermicides containing nonoxynol-9 in forms designed for vaginal use. The argument is that a public education campaign, to persuade individual consumers to check the labels and avoid products containing nonoxynol-9, would not be as effective in bringing about change as a simple change to the products.
While gay men may generally be at the highest risk of HIV transmission through anal sex, there are many heterosexual couples who sometimes have anal sex and therefore many women who are also potentially at risk.