You Should Know!

One of the first substances hoped to be an effective HIV microbicide, the spermicide nonoxynol-9, was shown by several groups, including the World Health Organization and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, to have the opposite effect. Nonoxynol-9 can increase vaginal, cervical, and rectal tissue irritation, which makes HIV infection easier. Some condom and personal lubricant manufacturers, including the makers of Durex, Kimono, and Maxx condoms, and Johnson & Johnson, which manufactures K-Y products, have subsequently stopped making products containing the compound.