[ ARC forum 2 ]
Written by Paul B. at 17 Sep 2002 11:03:32: Personal/ surgical lubricants
As an answer to: lubrication? written by GI at 17 Sep 2002 02:39:54:
> i have a question about the lubrication stuff.
Shoot!
> if my wife and i use lubrication for sex, what will happen to the lubrication that went into her?
It'll come out of her?
> would it eventually make it's way out of her or what?
That it will, just like your semen (and where did you imagine that went to?). And there's the point, they are much of a muchness.
> could it cause bad things like any liquid that causes rottening?
Well now, I'll tell you a few things about the commercial "personal" lubricants.
Apparently, they are mostly derived from vegetable gums - extracted from the sap of certain trees (sterculia, karaya), just as rubber is (though not necessarily the same process). These are "polysaccharides" or complex sugars, very similar to the body's natural mucous. They are certainly biodegradable or can "rot", as of course can semen, though the latter will probably be attacked by bacteria much quicker.
They can also be absorbed by the body (in effect, digested), and often enough small amounts are left inside the abdominal or other cavities after surgical procedures, which does not appear to cause much of a problem. They are also a component of some laxatives, so the only annoying effect if some is swallowed (as it most certainly may be as the result of surgical procedures such as gastroscopy; examination of the stomach) might be minor diarrhoea. But this is proportional to the amount "eaten", small amounts are quite edible (and are in fact, already in some packaged foods)!
Of course, when packaged they are sterilised and will always be clean when used from a freshly opened pack, and due to their concentration when packed, there appears to be little bacterial or fungal growth even when the pack is re-opened and re-used many times, much as you can generally store honey without refrigeration. If you re-use packs however (including the "pump" packs), you must still be careful not to contaminate the nozzle - a simple practice is to "pour" it from the pack (tube) into your hand so that it drips downward without the hand touching the nozzle.
In summary, it is not a point about which to worry - the small amount left in the vagina (or similarly, under the foreskin) which is of course on the outside of the body, after intercourse is probably the least likely material to become unpleasant and will cause no trouble unless she were so particularly (and unusually) unfortunate as to be allergic to it - and it will discharge just as does menstrual blood during a period.