Lubricants Which Can Negatively Effect Sperm
Lubricant Use and the Potential Impact on establishing a pregnancy
Trying to conceive a child can be stressful for couples, and this stress can contribute to vaginal dryness in some women. Medical conditions (such as diabetes) and certain medications (such as anti-depressants) can also contribute to vaginal dryness.
Many couples assume that lubricants that do not contain spermicidal agents are okay to use when trying to conceive, but unfortunately most vaginal lubricants are detrimental to sperm quality when they come into contact with sperm. Lubricants can impact sperm in multiple ways, including decreasing their motility, elevating levels of DNA fragmentation, and decreasing their ability to survive.
Lubricants that Are Bad for Sperm Quality
Most vaginal lubricants come in 5 main categories:
1) Water-based with glycerin (KY, Astroglide)
2) Water-based without glycerin (KY Natural Feeling)
3) Petroleum-based (Petroleum jelly)
4) Silicone (Pjur, Swiss Navy)
5) Natural oil-based (coconut oil)
All of these are potentially damaging to sperm if they come into contact with them.
Lubricants That Do Not Damage Sperm
Hydroxycellulose-based lubricants do not negatively impact sperm quality. If vaginal dryness is an issue, the use of these products may offer a fertility benefit over the use of other types of lubricants. Fertility labs often allow the use of hydroycellulose-based lubricants for collection of semen specimens, but you should always check with the lab prior to make sure it is ok.
Examples of hydroxycellulose-based lubricants include:
1) Pre-Seed
2) Conceive Plus
3) ConceivEase
Other lubricants have been found to have little to no negative impact on sperm function include:
1) Mineral oil
2) Canola oil- though may slightly increase the risk of vaginal infection
3) Baby oil
Most all other forms of lubricants (including saliva) are generally damaging to sperm when they come into contact with them.
[Mowat A. JAssistReprGen 2014][Agarwal A. FertSteril 2013]