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Jim Shelton's Pearls July 12, 2000Spermicides and Protection Against STDs
The "Pearls" offer answers to commonly asked questions about family planning. These "Pearls" are prepared by Dr. James D. Shelton, Senior Medical Scientist, Office of Population, United States Agency for International Development (USAID) |
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I've heard spermicides may be protective against STDs such as gonorrhea. Is that true?
Yes - at least some STDs, although the protection is only modest. The weight of evidence indicates that methods with adequate nonoxynol-9 (the most commonly used spermicide) protect against the bacterial STDs such as chlamydia and gonorrhea. The reduction in risk tends to be on the order of about 20% or so across studies. While this level of protection is not great, it may at least offer some protection that women can themselves control.
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