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I have, but my story is not a good one. I am allergic (or hypersensitive) to spermicide, specifically Nonoxynol-9 which is the active ingredient in a lot of spemicides. A lot of women are. lets jsut say swelling of the lady parts is not fun at all.
OP, you said the condoms irritate you. By "irritate" do you mean they annoy you, or you have a physical reaction to them? Condoms usually have a spermicidal coating, and I wonder if you're already having a reaction.
@strawbabies: Hmm... I'm glad you brought that up, because I didn't realize that most condoms have spermicidal coating on them. I'm not sure if the ones we use have it, so I'm getting ready to look that up and find out. When we have sex (not EVERY time, but most), I get a burning sensation in my vagina. It doesn't swell up, it just burns for about an hour after sex.
Pinksapphire - I'm a reproductive health nurse and you should know that they don't sell Spermicide here in NSW, Australia anymore because it just is not reliable when used alone. When used perfectly it still has an 18% failure rate. Typical use, it has a 29% failure fate. One of my friends in the USA was using it as her only form of contraception and she got pregnant. So if pregnancy definitely isn't an option for you right now, I would avoid relying on spermicide.
If you don't like condoms you would be better off looking into natural family planning.
The withdrawal method is also quite reliable as long as your partner has good control (he needs to pull out well before he ejaculates and always aims AWAY from your lady bits!! :D) and always urinates after ejaculating. Evidence based research has shown that pre-ejaculate does not actually contain live sperm, as previously believed but there can be sperm present if he has ejaculated previously and not cleared his urethra (through urination.)
If you really want to use spermicide though, you ideally need to use it with a diaphragm.
Hope this helps :)
I get the burning with a lot of lubes. Its the glycerin in it I think. Try out some other condoms too.
@miss_blondie86: I am also on the birth control pill (Yasmin). We were just thinking of trying spermicides as an extra precaution.
@gogogiraffes: I think it's the lube in the condoms, too. I looked on the condom website (Durex) and it says they do not include spermicides in their condoms. But, I know they've got this lube stuff on them... maybe that's what is irritating me.
If the lube is irritating you there is a good chance that the spermicide will too. ( we don't use lube for that reason too...) we had to search around and find a condom that did not irritate me, also make sure there is no ribbing on the condom because that can cause irritation also.
a friend of mine had an allergic reaction to spermicide, and my mother always told me to avoid it, just because you don't know what sort of reaction you'll have, and that's really the worst place to find out you have one. For the level of effectiveness (plus being on the pill) I personally wouldn't take the risk!
DH and I used them quite a bit before his vasectomy. There are good points and bad points to them. The good point oviously is no condom. Ok, that one is huge. The bad points: 1) for me, I could not use them to many days in a row or I got really sore and uncomfortable, almost like a chemical reaction 2) I was uncomfortable using them closer to my ovulation date, I am a fertile myrtle, so we only used them two weeks following my cycle (I don't know how medically correct that was, more for my comfort level than anything) 3) The types can be confusing with the timing. Some you have to insert a half hour early, some 10 minutes, some right away. 4) If not used per the instuctions exactly, they can be really ineffective, so make sure you read and understand the instructions and the timing. 5) If you use them, make sure you go to the bathroom right away, that will help with the potential of a UTI, not fullproof, but it helps
@Pinksapphire: I had this exact same question the other day!! FI and I were talking about it. Ugh now I am afraid to try it!!!
Try using lambskin condoms - also, do you use lube? it could be what is irritating you. I am sensitive to all KY products - but AstroGlide makes an all natural lube which is really great.
Also - I've been doing Fertility Awareness Method (FAM) to avoid pregnancy for the last couple months and it's been great. I highly recommend reading: Taking Care of Your Fertility. It has been an amazing help.
(We are not TTC and I did want to use any sort of hormonal contraceptive, so we'd been using condoms 100% - BEFORE learning about FAM).
ETA: I had a friend who used the spermicide suppositories (looks like a tampon applicator - used before having intercourse). She said it worked great for her.
@Pinksapphire: i used spermicide with an ex for about 6 months. i liked it a lot. it was the stuff you buy at the grocery store, you insert it with an aplicator kinda like a tampon. the only complaint would be that it made me smell different for about a day. but then again it could have been his juices that were doing it to. good luck!
@Pinksapphire: Do you use lube?? I ask because I thought that I had an allergy to something on/in the condoms and we tried a million different ones. When I got on reliable BC, we decided to have sex without condoms and I had the same issue. Turned out I just simply needed MORE lube -- we added some and it's been great!
A lot of sexuality educators I really trust are anti-spermicide (Dr Ruth <3, Charlie Glickman, etc). I have irritation issues with it. If you think about it, nonoxynol 9 (the most commonly used spermicide in US) is a detergent. While it helps prevent pregnancy and STIs, it can also make a person somewhat more likely to contract HIV and some STIs b/c it can irritate th skin (more likely to happen in females b/c of the nature of the vagina) and disrupts the cell membranes. As for me, it makes my lady bits EXTREMELY uncomfortable. i've tried several different spermicide forms (contraceptive film, spermicidal jelly, foam, etc) and it happens with all for me. I originally assumed it was teh latex condoms and while I am extremely allergic to latex (*pats trusty Epi pen I carry everywhere now*), I also have issues with nonoxynol 9. It's easier to find non-latex condoms without spermicide than latex condoms without spermicide in my experience. I absolutely love polyisoprene condoms - great feel and excellent heat transfer plus no nonoxynol 9 to worry about!
Spermicide foam/condom combination got me pregnant when I was 21... :(
I could never trust it again!
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I hate to get all TMI, but I guess that's what this intimacy board is for. Anyway, I was curious to know if any of you have used spermicides? If so, which kind (foam, film, cream, etc.)? Did you find it to be effective and comfortable, or was it icky?
FI and I have never had sex without a condom. I'm on the pill, but despite that he refused to have sex without a condom for the longest time. The whole reason I got on the pill in the first place was to stop using condoms because they irritate me. Now, I don't know if it is because we're getting closer to the wedding, our next dating anniversary, or what... but, FI is really starting to loosen up where sex/condoms are concerned. Today, we were actually, finally going to have sex without a condom (and just have him pull out) but we got interrupted by a mood ruining phone call. After I had time to think about it, I remembered that spermicide stuff that I've seen in contraceptive phamplets/stores. I told FI about it (apparently he'd never heard of it) and now he's all excited for us to get some.
I am just wondering if any of you have experience with spermicides and what you think of them. Has anyone used them in conjunction with the birth control pill?