Polyurethane Condom OK, But Fewer Get Pregnant with Latex
The best condoms for birth control are latex, a study suggests. But polyurethane condoms work well enough for people with latex allergies.
As much as 7% of the U.S. population may be allergic to latex. That can be bad news when it comes to condoms. Used correctly, latex condoms are a highly effective means of birth control. And as everyone should know by now, consistent condom use prevents AIDS and other sexually transmitted diseases.
For those sensitive to latex, there are new polyurethane condoms. But the FDA has never deemed these condoms as effective as latex condoms. That's why Markus J. Steiner, PhD, and colleagues at Family Health International, Research Triangle Park, N.C., set up a test. They gave 901 couples either latex or polyurethane condoms.
The results, as reported in the March issue of Obstetrics & Gynecology:
Over six months, couples using polyurethane condoms had a 9% chance of getting pregnant. Those using latex condoms had a 5.4% pregnancy risk.
Polyurethane condoms broke or slipped at least once for 8.4% of the couples. Latex condoms failed at least once for 3.2% of users.
The men and women in the study liked the polyurethane condoms as much as the latex ones.
The bottom line: The best condoms for birth control are latex. Polyurethane condoms work well enough for those who can't use latex. Any kind of condom works better if used correctly and consistently.
"The ... polyurethane condom provided less pregnancy protection than the latex condom, but both the latex and polyurethane condoms offer pregnancy protection in the range of other barrier methods," Steiner and colleagues write. "For people with latex sensitivity or who find latex condoms unacceptable, this polyurethane condom represents one of several synthetic male condom alternatives currently available on the U.S. market."
Source: WebMD Medical News
March 21, 2003
Really? I heard in my Psychology of Human Sexuality class that Polyurethane was better...hmm. Guess ya learn something new everyday.
In my own experience I've found polyurethane to feel better than latex but to be much weaker. However, that experience is very limited; I've only bought one box of polyurethane and threw it away before we got through all of them, because they broke almost every time. The problem seemed to be that they weren't elastic enough.
Obviously, that was a very limited sample, and if that's how well most poly condoms worked, it wouldn't qualify as "well enough." The problem may have been specific to that particular brand (Trojan) or even that particular box of condoms.
I've had the same experience, every time I would use other than the latex, they would brake, I personally prefer to use the latex kind, it's better to be safe then sorry.