Wednesday, November 14, 2007
Recycled Condoms as HIV/AIDS Risk - Hoax, or No?
filed under: Smart. Safe. Sex. by Melissa Gira
Chinese state media (I know, reputable) report that condoms being recycled into hairbands are posing an HIV/AIDS transmission risk. Really? HIV/AIDS can only live outside of the human body for at most 15 days in highly-controlled laboratory settings, and fluids lose 90-95% of their viral load through exposure to air. For HPV, though it can also live on outside the human body in the form of fluids present on objects (towels, toys, and the like), it’s most commonly transmitted through skin-to-skin contact — the risk of transmission after days, let alone what chemical process they may go through as part of rubber or latex recycling, is tiny.
Not that I’ll be doing a MAKE: Used-Condoms-Into-Accessories weekend project anytime soon, but are there any reports from China directly on this one? Are there now pink bins for condom recycling?
Update:
Shanghaist advises ladies to beware, asks for a doctor in the house.
Consumerist readers are thinking hoax as well.
Comments
Leave a Comment
If you would like to make a comment, please fill out the form below.
Hey never forget you are in the US. In other country you can be happy to find condoms. I work a lot in Africa, and they are a lot of people who doesn’t understand the need of protection. And think you still find people who thinks that they can have AIDS only by a hand shaking soooooooo………
And for for the Pink bins i think you should put a patent on this idea and make some money with this. Sex isn’t one of the big business.
And if they recycled them, i hope they wash them before packed them for the xxxx time.
I have heard from sex workers’ rights groups in Africa that sex workers have had to reuse condoms due to shortages as a result of US policies restricting aid to them. Can you say more about what you’re experiencing there?
Maybe there’s room for a d.i.y. “Condom Aid,” trying to get condoms more evenly distributed worldwide. Makes more sense than Durex giving them to Facebook users based on how many friends they get to link their products…
hey xav: who is it should never forget they are in the US? the writer of the article i hope…. heavens forbid you would mean the reader.
He means me, I’m sure. Everyone knows how painfully globetrotting the Sexerati readership is.
The problem in Africa is that you never know where money goes. It’s never people who had it at the final. I remember gave condoms to the local population in Nigeria. If i remember, 40% of the population have AIDS.And you know who gave me all these condoms : Statoil, a petrol compagny. Iremeber the small text written on it “you spit it, we catch it”
Normally i remember that the nigerian government had to do something to prevent AIDS in the country.
I mean by that, the politicians take the money allowed to the protection of the population. And the patient who had aids died.
I have been in a lot of country in Africa and the first thing i have done and learn: let my dick in my pants and don’t use it for sex.
For example in cameroun, the evening in your hotel “the love knock to your door”, the problem : the first condoms you find i’ve already been used by someone else, or you must do maybe 200 km to find one.
I went in these country to explain to the local population/
no-condom=no-sex=no-aids=no-death
it’s easy to understand
very hard to put in practice
and the level of life isn’t the same
condoms are something too much expensive.
It’s better to let people die. It’s cheappier
sorry i’m hard by saying that, but in africa it’s such a maffia sometimes.The local population have nothing and can expect anything from their governement, except a civil war to know who will be the next tyrant.
For the sex worker in Africa :
- no security
- no money
- death in a small period of time
- aids
- condoms(if they had luck)
but they ask with or without condoms, they don’t understand why;they just just think sometimes it’s not to have baby, and i can say things about excision, about a lot of things you’ll be totally disgusting.
Sorry i lost faith in the human nature
Sorry if i bless you by saying in the US, i can say an other word if you want. I’m from France, and sometime when you talk about the things you can see, people don’t beleve you .
I said US like i could have said France, UK, Spain, Canada or others country with a high level of life.
But if you want to come to France You are welcome(I should never say things like that or i will have thousands demands for a free bed and breakfest)
and about facebook and durex, for me it’s a scandal, that’s mean that people doesn’t understand that they must have safe sex.