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Why don’t we sell condoms with Nonoxynol-9?

• Nonoxynol-9 does not aid in preventing HIV infection, and in fact, has been found to increase the risk of HIV infection when used frequently by women at high risk of infection. (Studies conducted by the United Nations Program on AIDS [UNAIDS] from 1996-2000 showed that female sex workers in Africa who used Nonoxynol-9 lubrication as a means of preventing HIV infection actually increased their rates of infection when compared with sex workers that did not use the Nonoxynol-9 gel. More recent studies have been conducted that verify these findings.)
• Other Nonoxynol-9 studies have shown that it offers no protection against sexually transmitted infections such as gonorrhea or chlamydia.
• There is no evidence that condoms lubricated with Nonoxynol-9 are any more effective in preventing pregnancy or infection than condoms lubricated with silicone.
• Nonoxynol-9 condoms should never be used rectally.*

* from press releases by the World Health Organization (WHO), the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), and the Department of Health and Human Services. For more information, log on to:

http://www.who.int/inf/en/pr-2002-55.html
http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml.mm5118al.html
http://www.cdc.gov/hiv/pubs/mmwr/mmwr11aug00.html

How do I know that the condoms purchased at Student Health are the most reliable?

• Condoms are randomly sampled for factory water-leakage tests mandated by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Holes as small as 5 microns can be detected. If 4 or more per 1,000 leak, the entire production lot fails. The government has also recently implemented air-burst standards. This means that condoms must hold 16 liters of air (about 4 gallons) before bursting. If more than 1.5% in the lot fail the test, the entire lot fails.
• Typical procedures before packaging require that each condom on the assembly line is fitted on an electrically charged metal form. If pinholes are present, the form gives off sparks, and the condom is rejected.
• All of the condoms sold at our Student Health pharmacy have been recommended by a Consumer Reports condom reliability test conducted in 1999. These condoms were required to hold 25 liters of air (9 liters over the government standard) before bursting.*

* from the Consumer Reports article Condoms Get Better, June 1999. For more information, log on to:
http://www.consumerreports.org

What are the differences between the condoms sold at the Student Health pharmacy?

• Lifestyles Vibra-Ribbed: Wider than most, textured, glycerine feel, reservoir tip.
  
• Lifestyles, Lubricated: Wider than most, glycerine feel, reservoir tip.
  
• Beyond Seven, Lubricated: Narrower than most, lighter lubrication than most with an oily feel, blue-tinted, reservoir tip.
  
• Lifestyles, Ultra Sensitive Thin, Lubricated: thinner than most (by about 20%), reservoir tip, and a glycerine feel.
  
• Lifestyles, Kiss of Mint, Non-lubricated: Mint flavored, non-lubricated, reservoir tip.
  
• Lifestyles, Non-lubricated: non-lubricated with reservoir tip.
  
• Crown, Lubricated: reservoir-tipped, pink tinted, lighter lubrication.
  
• Durex Avanti: for those allergic to latex, a polyurethane condom, found to be wider than large latex condoms, and not as stretchy as latex.
  
• Reality Condom: A female condom made of a polyurethane sheath, lubricated inside and out. Inserted like a diaphragm. Typical use says that the female condom permits more unintended pregnancies than a male condom, however a recent study found low contraceptive failure rates. *
  

* from the Consumer Reports May 1995 & June 1999 issues, as well as Okomoto USA. For more information, log on to:
http://www.consumerreports.org
http://sqzm14.ust.hk/condom-ratings-95.html

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