A
female
age
41-50,
anonymous
writes:Is there a way to find out if you are allergic to condoms before using them for sexual intercourse?
View related questions:
condom Reply to this Question
Share |
Fancy yourself as an agony aunt? Add your answer to this question! A
reader, anonymous, writes (18 August 2008): You can always buy a condom, and rub it on your inner arm or the inside of your elbow for about 5 or 10 mins, using a bit of lube that you know youre not allergic to, and then wait 24 hours!
The key with all these sorts of skin testing is to wait 24 hours, to give your body time to react!
A
male
reader, Danielepew  +, writes (18 August 2008):
 If you're allergic to latex condoms, then I assume you're allergic to latex itself. Latex allergy can be very serious. Here's a serious article on the issue:
http://www.medicinenet.com/latex_allergy/article.htm
I have heard about people who are allergic to latex condoms in particular because of the close contact with the inside of their vaginas, or the coverage of the penis, or whatever. The article below suggests that those cases are really allergies to the spermicide nonoxynol-9, rather than to latex itself:
http://www.embarrassingproblems.co.uk/problems/problempage011204.htm
Allergy to latex is a serious and growing problem. It seems dangerous to suggest ways to test whether you are allergic to it, since the reactions can be quite severe (see the first article). However, I guess that, if you were very allergic to latex, problems would have already arose in your everyday life. Try exposing yourself for a little while to a latex condom. If you get any reaction like shortness of breath, rash, and others described in the first article, then you could have an allergy to the product.
A final word, about condom usage in general and latex condom, according to an article by the World Health Organization (http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs243/en/)
"Latex allergies are very rare among the general population. While 1-2 billion condoms are used per year in the USA, the FDA only received 44 reports of allergic reactions associated with condom use between October 1988 and end of 1991. The Centres for Disease Control, Atlanta, USA estimate that the population risk of an allergic reaction to latex is 0.08% and the nature of the reaction tends to be very mild. Concerns about latex allergies should not inhibit sexually active people who are at risk of exposure to pregnancy and STIs using condoms, since the risks associated with unprotected sexual contact are far greater than those from exposure to latex."
...............................
A
female
reader, junebug  +, writes (18 August 2008):
yea i heard the same thing just ware some gloves and wait a lil bit. Good luck xoxojunebugxoxo
...............................
A
female
reader, x..BabyGirl..x +, writes (18 August 2008):
 Cheapest I got was £1.12 for 100 pairs!
...............................
A
reader, anonymous, writes (18 August 2008): Jen - where do you buy your latex gloves? The cheapest I can find are £2.45 for 100 pairs!
...............................
A
male
reader, anonymous, writes (18 August 2008): Buy one and put it on a tampon. Insert and see what happens.
Alternatively consult a doctor.
...............................
|
