Plastic Condoms Get One Thumb Up, One Down
A couple of years ago we saw the first really dramatic condom innovation in decades: the use of polyurethane, a plastic, instead of latex. Polyurethane can be very, very thin but still tough; it is resistant to oil-based lubes; it can be textured to resemble human skin; and it causes fewer allergic reactions than latex. Recently completed studies, however, indicate that the products present a mixed bag for effectiveness.
The good news concerns the female condom, a polyurethane sheath which a woman can insert vaginally, eliminating the need for her male partner to use a traditional rolled-on condom. A UN AIDS Programme study with a large group of prostitutes in Thailand found that the subgroup which could use the female condom had a 1/3 reduction in sexually transmitted diseases versus the male-condom-only group. Additionally, giving women control of condom use reduced by 1/4 the incidence of unprotected intercourse. The female condom is marketed in the U.S. as "Reality." (For more information, see Journal of the American Medical Association, 8/13/97.)
The bad news is that the new polyurethane male condom "Avanti" broke or slipped off about 5% of the time during intercourse, according to a study by the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development. That's almost 10 times as often as latex condoms. Nonetheless, use of the Avanti didn't result in any more pregnancies; disease transmission was not assessed. This gross disparity between the FDA's data gathered in testing Avanti for approval vs. the NICHD data will have to be addressed.
-- Sandy Bartlett, Information/Education Coordinator
AIDS Services of Austin
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