Post-sex vaginal irritation - allergic to spermicide? - Sexual Health - Women Message Board

snoopy77 · 10-27-2002, 04:08 PM

My wife and I are newly married. She had sexual intercourse for the first time during our honeymoon. We used condoms coated with spermicidal lubricant. We also applied KY spermicide inside of her as a complement.

The first night, intercourse was painful for her due to a lack of foreplay. In subsequent nights, intercourse has not been painful for her and she had orgasms during intercourse.

However, the post-sex experience has been very unpleasant for her. The spermicidal gel discharges from her vagina the whole next day. As well, the water-based gel seems to keep her panties (and her labia) moist. She uses panty liners to absorb the gel discharge but her labia still feels irritated. Sometimes, she feels itchy or sore. The irritated vaginal labia has really caused her to dislike having sex.

We are wondering whether she is allergic to the spermicide nonoxynol-9. We have read about this on the Internet. We have read that nonoxynol-9 can cause irritation.

Are there couples out there who have used condoms and spermicide together?

What have your sexual and post-sex experiences been like?

Did your labia feel sore or irritated after sex?

Is there an alternative spermicide besides nonoxynol-9?

Is there an alternative complement to the condom ie. condom and whatever instead of condom and spermicide?

Thanks for any insights you may provide. You may email us directly.

snoopy77

susieq35 · 11-03-2002, 07:26 AM

My husband and i trixed non 9 on a condom several times i like you had a wet discharge and some soreness my doctor told me that its a very harsh gel and many people are allergic to it...I stayed away from it and now i am very happy i am sure your wife woulde be too

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"Grant me the courage to change the things i can"
Suzie

snoopy77 · 11-04-2002, 11:21 AM

Thanks for your email.

What method did you and your husband end up using?

Angelene · 11-04-2002, 06:40 PM

This sounds like an allergy to Nonoxynol-9, I'm allergic and many people are.

Just use condoms that aren't lubricated with spermicide. You can use regular condoms, and please make sure she is wet enough to enjoy sex. It's supposed to be pleasure for BOTH partners. There's really no excuse for not enough foreplay.

Using KY is good--they make lube that doesn't have spermicide in it, you should get that.

snoopy77 · 11-05-2002, 12:01 PM

Hi Angelene,

We didn't have sufficient foreplay the first time because she wanted to skip it and get straight to having intercourse. She realized later that we should have had foreplay and now, we always do.

We used spermicidal gel because we wanted to have the double protection of condoms and spermicide. We read that these 2 used in tandem greatly decreases the risk of a birth control failure.

Since we can't use spermicidal gel because of allergies, do you know of an alternative to it which we may use with condoms?