Is It Harmful to Use Lube During Anal Sex?
A case in point: the fact sheet on the use of lubricants during anal sex that was released last week by IRMA (International Rectal Microbicide Advocates). According to this fact sheet, many commonly used water-based lubricants can cause damage to anal tissue when used during sex, which in turn could lead to higher rates of sexually transmitted infections. This damage appears to be related to the fact that some water-based lubricants tend to have a lower concentration of water-soluble ingredients than cells in the anal area; therefore, when lube comes into contact with the cells of the rectum, it sucks water out of these body cells and makes them shrink. When cells are damaged like this, it's more likely that a bacteria or virus can infect the body.
IRMA does not have any specific lubricants that they recommend using or avoiding; instead, they state that more research on the effects of lubricant during anal sex is needed. While one's first reaction to this news might be, "OK, if water-based is bad, I'll use silicone lubricant instead," we don't have any research that shows whether silicone lubes cause the same type of damage or not.
So what to do? I would
NOT recommend discontinuing the use of lubricants during anal sex. Butt play
without lube can be downright painful and perhaps even more damaging than butt
play with lube. If you notice that your lubricant causes burning or irritation,
don't ignore it; try switching to one with fewer chemical ingredients. Since
the main issue here is that lubricants may increase the likelihood of sexually
transmitted infections, condom use during anal sex becomes even more important.
The bottom (tee-hee) line: Keep using lube, and be extra-consistent about
condom use.
This reminds me of the
flap over the spermicide nonoxynol-9 during the late ’90s and early 2000s.
Researchers had initially hoped that N-9 might be as toxic to HIV as it is to
sperm and thus could be used as an HIV prevention tool. However, studies showed
that N-9 was extremely damaging to cell tissues, and thus could actually
increase the rate of HIV infection rather than decrease it. Since then, condoms
with N-9 have almost disappeared from the market (although N-9 is still used in
contraceptive devices like the Today Sponge and with diaphragms).
We'll never know what
unexpected discoveries researchers will make about sexual health. Our job as
responsible sexual citizens is to accept that sex comes with some risk, stay
informed, and make the best choices we can with the information we have.
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Laura
Anne Stuart has a master’s degree in public health and has worked as a
sexuality educator for more than a decade. She owns the Tool Shed, an erotic boutique on Milwaukee’s East Side.
This is not necessarily to denigrate what the author of this article is trying to say, butt because the concepts of "anal sex" and "gay men" are often conflated in the popular imagination, I would like to say that there are homosexual men (/raises hand) who don't want to engage in anal sex and think it is far better to avoid this particular sexual act in the first place.
Why, you might ask? 1) We all know for what purpose the body employs the rectal orifice, namely waste elimination. "Teh buttsecks" doesn't appeal to yours truly any more than frolicking in a trash compactor would. Yucko!
And 2) The fact that the rectum is so easily damaged when subjected to the impact of sexual intercourse makes anal sex a much more likely way of transmitting STDs such as AIDS. So anal sex is also as potentially dangerous as playing around inside a trash compactor! Condoms aren't perfect, you know.
There are other ways for men who are in love with each other to make love (warning: linked page contains NSFW illustration):
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frot
Baby Love's comments have some inaccuracies that I'd like to point out.
1) "We all know for what purpose the body employs the rectal oriface [the anus?]...." The mouth? For eating, not kissing or oral sex! The body? Certainly not for flying in a plane or swimming in water-- we weren't born with wings, fins, or air bladders, afterall! The teeth? Certainly for eating, not for brushing or flossing! The brain? For thinking about survival and procreating, not physics or mathematics! And of course sex?? ONLY procreation, not for enhancing intimacy between two people!
2) The anus (not the rectum) may be easily damaged without adequate lubrication and gentle stimulation, but so does constipation and diarrhea. I've seen many patients who NEVER engage in anal sex, but nevertheless have anal warts, fissures, fistulae, abscesses, etc. It is sexual activity with persons infected with STDs, especially when not wearing condoms (which we know are not 100% protective), that spreads STDs.
However, since anal sex may be potentially dangerous to some, suggests that we consider the risk of many other things many people do: like drunk driving; texting/cell phoning or listening to music with headphones while driving or walking on the street; smoking; not taking medications for chronic medical conditions like diabetes or hypertension; cocaine or other illicit drug use; riding motorcycles or bicycles without helmets; having sex without effective birth control when not ready for parenthood; etc.
There are many ways for people to express and share intimacy with their partner(s), some relatively safer than others. Being well informed about the relative risk of all activities and behaviors is essential for everyone.