SPERMICIDES: HOW DO YOU USE SPERMICIDE?

Using spermicide on its own

1. Take the cap off the tube and screw on the applicator in its place.

2. Squeeze the tube until the applicator is full of gel, and the plunger has been pushed out as far as it will go.

3. Unscrew the applicator from the tube.

4. Leave the plunger as it is, pushed out

5. Gently slide the applicator into your vagina. It is best if you are lying down with your knees bent or crouching down or if you have one foot up on a chair or on the toilet or the bath.

6. Ease the applicator in as far as you can. Don’t worry, it can’t get lost inside you. It can only go as far as the end of your vagina, and it cannot fit into the opening in your cervix because that opening is much smaller than the applicator.

7. Push the plunger right in slowly so that all the gel comes out into your vagina.

8. Slide the applicator out of your vagina.

9. Wait a few minutes for the spermicide to spread itself around inside your vagina.

10. Now you can have sex.

Using spermicide with a diaphragm.

If you are using the spermicide with a diaphragm, it is very important that the spermicide is water based, like Ortho-Gynol Jelly. If it is not Ortho-Gynol Jelly, check the package to be sure you can use it safely with a diaphragm.

• Squeeze about a teaspoon of spermicide into the bowl of the diaphragm. It needs to go on the side closest to your cervix. Try not to get any on the rim, because this will make the diaphragm very slippery and difficult to hold. Insert the diaphragm with the spermicide on it.

Using spermicide with a cervical cap.

If you are using spermicide with a cervical cap, the spermicide should be water based. Check the package to be sure.

• Squeeze about one teaspoon into the cap. Try not to get any on the rim, because this will make the cap very slippery and difficult to hold.

• Insert the cap into your vagina.

Using spermicide with a condom.

If you are using spermicide with a condom, the spermicide should be water based. Check the package to be sure. Use the applicator and put the spermicide directly into the vagina as discussed.

Most spermicides are only effective for about one hour so they should be used as close to the time you have sex as possible. After you have had sex, wash the applicator with soap and water. Make sure you wash the inside as well as the outside. Keep it somewhere clean and dry.

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