Spermicidal Lube

[skankby-numbers.livejournal.com]

Hi everyone, I'm new here and I just have one small question! I'm going to visit my boyfriend soon, and being that we only see eachother every couple months..there's going to be lots and lots of sex happening when I do go visit. The last thing I need right now is a pregnancy, and it just so happens that I'm going to be ovulating on the anticipated visiting days. I've never used spermicidal lube before, so I'm not sure if I'm allergic to it or not. We certainly plan on using condoms, but I'd also like to bring along some spermicidal lube just as a precaution. Is there any way I can "test" if I'm allergic to it or not beforehand? Any information you can give me would be much appreciated!! Thanks in advance! 

Comments

[quillty.livejournal.com]

If you're only worried about allergies, you could just dab a (little) bit onto yourself and monitor it. I've never used spermicidal lube, but I have used spermicidal condoms, and they give me yeast infections. If you're worried about that, I don't know what to tell you, because, depending on how long you have until you see your boyfriend, you may not want to risk getting one.

[skankby-numbers.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I'm definitely going to try that. I have about two months until I see him, so I'm sure if I develop something, it'll go away with some TLC. Thanks for the suggestion!

[pinkhusky.livejournal.com]

I've heard of people try out different kinds of lube on the back of their wrists/hands. It's not as sensitive as your private areas, but a small dash of it on your wrists should give you a sign to make sure you're not !!1!1!11!HIVES/RASH or something. There's probably an easier way, but thats just what I have heard :]

[skankby-numbers.livejournal.com]

Haha yes ma'am! I'm going to be purchasing some soon, so I'll make a post of my findings!

[atalanta0jess.livejournal.com]

You could always squirt some in your vag and see what happens. Heh. Of course, as was mentioned, you might not want to do that if you're gong to see him VERY soon, in case you have a reaction that takes awhile to clear up. And if you're being very cautious, you might test it on the inside of your elbow first and see what happens. :)

[skankby-numbers.livejournal.com]

Will do! Thank you!

[atalanta0jess.livejournal.com]

Good luck.

(I really hope you don't end up cursing that crazy girl on the net who suggested you just squirt some in and see what happens. Heh)

[snowmentality.livejournal.com]

I'm a bit wary of the spermicidal lube. It gave me recurring UTIs (because of the irritation it caused) and as a previous commenter said, it gives some women YIs. It's not gentle stuff. I'm not allergic to it, but it still caused skin irritation.

Maybe try it out, as other commenters have suggested?

[archangelbeth]

If you want to take another precaution, grabbing some Plan B early on in case of a condom "ack!" might also help?

Everyone else covered the "give it a test?" possibilities. *wry*

[snowmentality.livejournal.com]

I thought of suggesting that, but if the OP does happen to ovulate on the day of the condom ack (which she said was likely), Plan B wouldn't do a whole lot of good -- there was a recent post about this, in which I learned that Plan B has been shown not to have any implantation-interrupting effects.

It is, though, a generally good thing to have around if one is using condoms alone! And it'd probably be worth taking anyway, just in case ovulation hadn't happened yet, to try and block it.

[skankby-numbers.livejournal.com]

I thought of picking up some Plan B too, but the thing is, my boyfriend is in South Carolina, and I'm not sure how I would go about it there. I don't know if I'd have to go to the doctor and get a prescription, and that would be a biiig old hassle. I'll look into it though! Thank you!

[rogue0703.livejournal.com]

What about picking it up in your home state at some point before you leave to go visit him?

[skankby-numbers.livejournal.com]

I'm going to try, but I'm really not sure how to go about it. I'm from New York and I keep getting different information on how to obtain Plan B.

[rogue0703.livejournal.com]

go to PP's website, they should have info for your area of NY.

[emily-arete.livejournal.com]

Perhaps you could try something else, such as combining condoms and withdrawal...

[skankby-numbers.livejournal.com]

Haha I love how withdrawal never occured to me. Thank you!

[nakedfaery.livejournal.com]

If you're using the condoms correctly, there really is no need for anything else.

If you really do want to try it, I'd recommend testing a small amount on a patch of sensitive but non vulval/vaginal skin. Perhaps somewhere delicate like behind your ear (where they get you to test hair colourants). If you don't get a reaction after 24 hours, try a little on your vulva and vagina.

I'd really personally recommend against spermicide, as one of the most common ingredients, nonoxynol 9, commonly causes allergic reactions, because it's basically like putting soap in your vagina. There are also some suggestions that N9 can increase risk of HIV transmission, which you can see here (http://www.webmd.com/content/article/50/40570.htm), here (http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn2852-spermicide-offers-no-hiv-protection.html) and here (http://www.ripnroll.com/nonoxynol9.htm).

If it's possible to find a spermicidal lubricant without N9 in it, then I recommend that. But I really think that if you are using the condom correctly, then you shouldn't need it. This includes putting the condom on as soon as the penis is fully erect, before there is any genital contact or bodily fluid contact. You should also make sure the condom is held firmly during withdrawal. And because I'm paranoid, I tend to check the condom after sex for any signs of tears/breaks/leaks. Make sure that if you are using latex condoms, you don't let any oil based products like petroleum jelly or baby oil come into contact with it. If you tend to use these products a lot, try a condom that is latex free, either polyurethane or at-10.

If you are concerned about pregnancy, looking into longer term birth control might also be a good idea :-)

[skankby-numbers.livejournal.com]

Thank you so much for all that information, it was very helpful! I understand that there's really nothing to worry about if we're using the condom correctly, I just like to take extra precuations. I've looked into HBC, but my mom is pretty against me getting it because breast cancer runs in my family. I'm sur I'll figure it all out. Thanks again for your help!