Last May two studies were released that got a lot of attention for pointing out the potential role personal lubricants might play in STD transmission during anal intercourse. Specifically, lab studies raised the possibility that lubricant could actually make transmission easier by irritating the rectal lining.
The work was supported by the interdisciplinary group, International Rectal Microbicide Advocates, who have been doing their best to help researchers and health care providers contextualize the findings so they are neither blown out of proportion, nor cast aside as irrelevant.
This week more findings were published in the journal AIDS Research and Human Retroviruses. Researchers studied forty-one brands of lubricants (taken from the IRMA list of most frequently used lubricants), looking for any anti-HIV-1 activity, toxicity, and essentially the salt content of lubricants that could contribute to damage at the cellular level.
They found that none of the lubricants had anti-HIV activity, that four of them enhanced HIV-1 replication, and, in line with earlier research, that most of the lubricants were had higher concentrations of salts and sugars than the cells in the rectal lining, and as such, when they come into contact with tissue the lubricant draws water out of the cells, damaging the tissue, and potentially increasing the risk of infection.
José Romero, co-author of the study, explained in a prepared statement, that the results are important, but raise more questions than answers:
"It is important to emphasize that our findings are from in vitro studies. What happens in the laboratory environment does not always happen in the human body. In fact, lubricants generally appear to play an important role in preventing the spread of HIV. Intercourse without them can damage cells by creating friction which could cause tears in the epithelium, thus possibly promoting HIV transmission. But we need to know more,"
So for now, my recommendation (and presumably that of most sex educators) is to keep using lubricant. Not only does it make almost all kinds of sex more fun, the protection it provides both skin and condoms, but reducing friction, seems as important, if not more, than what is currently only a theoretical risk.
For more detailed information I recommend IRMA's fact sheets on Safety of Lubricants for Rectal Use.
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