Recently, the tests used in the 1980s to test lambskin condoms for their permeability to HIV have been called into question, however. In the wake of the AIDS crisis of the 1980s, lambskin condom use plummeted, as the FDA did not endorse lambskin condoms for the ability to prevent transmission of HIV. Unfortunately, the Achilles’ heel of the lambskin condom is permeability. With all these positive qualities, one might wonder why use of lambskin condoms has declined over the years. Because they wet easily, they are very good at transferring heat, which is perhaps the most important quality in a condom that is competent at feeling something like unprotected sex. Like the sausage casings that were the lambskin condom’s forebears, lambskin condoms are thin, translucent, and stronger than they look. Indeed, a history of using animal intestines as condoms dates back thousands of years. Lambskin condoms, also known as natural membrane condoms, or skin condoms, are perhaps the oldest class of condoms on the market. Paradoxically, the FDA does not approve condoms for use during anal sex, and studies on condom durability are performed for vaginal sex only - despite the fact that condoms became high-profile in large part because of the HIV epidemic among men who had anal sex with other men. Although the FDA regulates condoms as medical devices and therefore dictates how they are manufactured, labeled, and marketed, relatively few studies have actually been done on the safety and efficacy of condom use, particularly for high-risk populations such as men who have sex with men. However, shockingly, in many cases the data aren’t really available to support the use of latex condoms either. In many cases, the data just aren’t available to suggest that competing technologies are as safe and effective as latex condoms. The FDA, Centers for Disease Control, and health departments across the country have promoted latex condoms as the gold standard of STI and pregnancy prevention for over 30 years. Aside from the market pressures keeping latex dominant, there is regulatory hostility towards competing technologies as well. The dominant condom technology currently on the market, developed in the 1920s, latex condoms and the synthetic-equivalent polyisoprene condoms are produced globally by a few large corporations that comprise an oligopoly in the sexual health market - Trojan, Durex, LifeStyles/Ansell, and Okamoto. Here’s a survey of the condoms available today, and the science that supports their use. Perhaps most importantly, it must block transmission of sperm cells and smaller particles such as the bacteria and viruses that cause sexually transmitted infections.Īs many of the condoms on the market demonstrate, optimizing for one property, such as sensation, tends to come at the cost of other properties, such as durability or impermeability.Īlthough condoms have been in use for well over a thousand years, the modern condom hasn’t changed very much over the last century.It must not inhibit genital sensation so much that it ruins the sexual experience, or no one will want to wear it.It must be easy to put on, even in the heat of the moment when sexual partners fumble in the dark, sometimes while intoxicated.it has to be reliable it shouldn’t break frequently.Fortunately, new condoms are in development that are easier to use and more pleasurable to wear. Even more alarmingly, according to the 2010 National Survey of Sexual Health and Behavior, only 20 percent of those in the United States who have anal sex use condoms, and anal sex is the highest risk activity for sexually transmitted infection. With this list of grievances, it is only natural (albeit more than a little disturbing) that as few as five percent of men worldwide wear condoms during sex. Most men (and some women) claim condoms reduce sensation and pleasure during sex condom users complain that condoms smell funny, taste bad, feel constricting, and, in this age of eco-consciousness, are entirely wasteful. However, for condoms to be effective, there’s a major hurdle to be overcome - condoms must be worn. When used correctly, condoms are among the safest and most effective methods of preventing both pregnancy and sexually transmitted infection (STI).
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