Soooooooo..... Are Lubes Safe?

via Positive Lite, by Marc-André LeBlanc

"This situation is unacceptable. We’re in 2013, for the love of all that is wet and wild! How can we not know the answer to such a fundamental question—are lubes safe?" 

 Here I am again, standing in front of a giant wall of lube options at a local store.

• Water-based, silicone-based, oil-based, hybrid.
• Bottles, tubs, tubes, vats, vials, sachets, packets, pouches, pillows, mix-it-at-home kits.
• Pumpable, flippable, squeezable, scoopable, squirtable, spritzable, speadable.
• Regular, warming, cooling, tingling, numbing.
• Thick, thin, goopy, watery, greasy, sticky, slippery, silky, slick.
• Long lists of unpronounceable chemicals, claims of being organic or all-natural.
• Scents. Flavours. Colours.
• Formulated to look like cum!
• And of course, wildly varying prices.

I’m glad I’m not meeting that guy for another three hours. 

So which lube should I get? Which ones are safe? Which ones should I avoid? 

Who knows!

No, seriously. Who knows? If I don’t, I can only assume nobody else does. After all, I coordinate the global Lube Safety Working Group for IRMA—International Rectal microbicide Advocates. 

This is the shocking reality: more than 30 years into the HIV pandemic, we still have no clear answers on whether sexual lubricants (lubes) increase, decrease, or have no impact on the risk of acquiring HIV and other STIs sexually transmitted infections (STIs). 

Many men, women and transgender individuals all across the globe use sexual lubricants for both vaginal and anal intercourse. We have long promoted the use of male or female condoms with condom-compatible water-based or silicone-based lubes to prevent HIV and other STIs. Lubricants help ensure that condoms don’t break, and that condoms stay on during sex. So, it’s pretty critical we understand if any of these condom-compatible lubes could actually be putting people in harm’s way. 

One thing is clear: we will not get an answer to the lube safety question without advocacy.

Read the rest.

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  *Join IRMA's robust, highly-active. moderated, global listserv addressing rectal microbicide research and advocacy as well as other interesting new HIV prevention technologies by contacting us at rectalmicro@gmail.com. Joining our listserv automatically makes you a member of IRMA - a network of more than 1,100 advocates, scientists, policy makers and funders from all over the world.

*Please look for us on Facebook: www.facebook.com/InternationalRectalMicrobicideAdvocates, and you can follow us on Twitter: @rectalmicro.

*Also, please note that shared news items from other sources posted on this blog do not necessarily mean IRMA has taken any position on the article's content.

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POZ love for IRMA - The Anal Dialogues

The July/August 2011 issue of POZ Magazine belongs to IRMA and rectal microbicides. Check it out for a nice history of our work and a snapshot of the science, including important information on lubricant safety.

via POZ.com, by Trenton Straub

Excerpt:

Perhaps IRMA’s most visible work is three game-changing reports it published in conjunction with the biennial International Microbicides Conference. The first, Rectal Microbicides: Investments & Advocacy in 2006, compiled what research was being done and where—a tricky task. “A lot of researchers were concerned that if ‘anal’ or ‘rectal’ appeared in research proposals or reports, they wouldn’t get funded, so they’d scrub their papers so those words wouldn’t show up,” LeBlanc says. “Instead, they would refer to ‘topical use of products’ or other language.” And because of the dangers surrounding the subject—male-to-male sex is illegal in many countries, including 31 in sub-Saharan Africa—IRMA first had to gain researchers’ trust, proving they were not raging advocates who would alienate and antagonize. Their professionalism paid off, and the report was a hit. “It showed we were serious,” Pickett says, “and we got hundreds of new members.” 


Read the rest.

[If an item is not written by an IRMA member, it should not be construed that IRMA has taken a position on the article's content, whether in support or in opposition.]

IRMA lube safety presentation gets some love

IRMA recently teemed up with the Global Forum on MSM and HIV to present on one of our key issues - lube safety "Are Lubes Safe for Rectal Use? What MSM Need to Know."

IRMA Secretary and resident lube expert Marc-André LeBlanc did the honors, and if we must say so ourselves, did them quite well. And we're not the only ones saying so.

The webinar was attended by over 60 people from all over the world and was even covered on a number of websites.

About.com/sexuality says: "I've sung the praises of IRMA, the International Rectal Microbicide Advocates in the past, and wanted to pass along an interesting resource. It is primarily intended for people who work with men who have sex with men (that's what the MSM above stands for, in case you're more of a media person and were wondering why the mainstream media needs to know about rectal lubes in the first place), but may be of interest to sex educators, lube lovers, or anyone with a nerd's love of information."

And the Bilerico Project gave the issue some attention as well. While the blogger on Bilerico is a little confused about what IRMA has contributed to the field of lube safety (we DID the internet survey on lube use, we DID NOT actually test specific lubes in the lab, that is for our scientist friends) - we very much appreciate the coverage. It helps get the word out and that is what's most important.

Full Presentation: Are Lubes Safe for Rectal Use? What MSM Need to Know (or download a pdf of the slides here).

[If an item is not written by an IRMA member, it should not be construed that IRMA has taken a position on the article's content, whether in support or in opposition.]

NEW: Lube Safety Fact Sheet and QA for Advocates

IRMA urges more research on lube safety

After an extraordinary amount of work with IRMA's Lube Safety Working Group and members of the IRMA Steering Committee - led by IRMA Secretary Marc-André LeBlanc over the course of four months and many, many drafts - we are delighted to release two important documents to help you gain a better understanding of the safety issues around lubricants used for anal intercourse.

Many men, women and transgender people use lubricants (lubes) during sexual intercourse. Yet we know very little about their safety when used during anal intercourse (AI).

Very few studies have examined the effect of lubes on human rectal tissue, but those that did showed mixed results. Most water-based lubes tested in these studies were shown to be damaging to rectal tissue. However, some lubes were more damaging than others. Furthermore, in one study the use of lube for AI was associated with the presence of rectal sexually transmitted infection (STI).

Based on current evidence:

• More research is urgently needed to explore if there is a link between lube use and acquiring HIV and/or rectal STIs.
• It is unclear whether any particular type or brand of lube might increase, decrease or have no effect on acquiring HIV and/or rectal STIs.
• Using male or female condoms is still considered the best way to prevent acquiring HIV and STIs during AI. In addition, the use of condom-compatible lubes has been associated with a decreased risk of condoms breaking or slipping.
• It is not possible at this time to recommend for or against using lubes if having AI without condoms.
• Lube use on its own is not a proven method of HIV or STI prevention.

For more detailed information:

• Safety of lubricants for rectal use: A fact sheet for HIV educators and advocates (1-page)
• Safety of lubricants for rectal use: Questions & Answers for HIV educators and advocates (much more detail with research explained and citations)
• Read all blog posts on the topic of lubricants.
• Click here for an IRMA teleconference recording on lube safety (6/16.)

IRMA's Marc-André LeBlanc Gives Good Podcast

IRMA's Steering Committee Secretary (and founding member) Marc-André LeBlancrecently made a guest appearance on Peer Review Radio, a podcast based in Ottawa, Canada devoted to making science interesting and approachable for all types of communities.

He talks about rectal microbicides, naturally, and other new prevention technologies in a program titled "HIV - Staying Positive." Go to 22:44 to 35:50 to hear his section. Marc-André does an excellent job - the way he describes/explains issues and concepts is definitely worth stealing.

The rest of the episode is also quite interesting and worth a listen. Here is a description:

In this episode, Manon will try and help you grasp the intricacies of her favourite virus, the Human Immunodeficiency Virus, or HIV, with an emphasis on solutions! In a first segment, Dr James Brooks from the National HIV and Retrovirology Laboratories, will start from the basics and tell us all about the molecular biology of HIV: where it came from, how it works, and why the search for a cure is taking so long. Next, Marc-André LeBlanc, an expert in HIV policy, advocacy and prevention, will tell us about New Prevention Technologies – because the good ol’ ACT strategy (abstinence, condoms and treatment) just ain’t workin’. Finally, Dr Rainer Engelhardt, from the Canadian HIV Vaccines Initiative will enlighten us as to how close we are from discovering a vaccine against HIV, and on the role that Canada is playing in the field. In our “Careers” segment this week, our guest Helene LeBlanc, a forensic entomologist (!!!), will be telling us all about her extraordinary field of work.