Strange Attempts to Prevent Pregnancy
I once read a magazine article that said that Middle Eastern camel drivers were the inventors of IUDS and that crocodile excrement was used in humans for birth control. I thought this was interesting and decided to do a little research on the subject.
Contraceptive knowledge was spread as folk wisdom through oral tradition, since individuals did not consult physicians for this purpose until modern times. Circumstances of ancient times made communication of this knowledge difficult, but even when knowledge was lacking, the desire to avoid pregnancy was not. Many of the techniques involved potions, body movements, and lockets or carved images - essentially magical folklore.
Humans have been quite creative when it comes to birth control ideas over the centuries. Though some notions we have about this part of history are not well documented, many are.
Putting barriers in the vagina is a very old practice. According to Leon Speroff and Philip Darney, in A Clinical Guide for Contraception (Baltimore: Williams & Wilkins, 1992), references to sponges and plugs appear in the earliest of writings. Substances thought to have either barrier or spermicidal properties (or both) have included honey, alum, spices, oils, tannic acids, lemon juice, and, yes, even crocodile dung. The diaphragm and cervical cap, however, were not invented until the late 1800s.
A frequently told, but not well documented story, assigns the first use of IUDs to caravan drivers who allegedly used intrauterine stones to prevent pregnancies in their camels during long journeys, write Speroff and Darney.
Various chemicals have been used for contraception. The first commercially available spermicidal pessaries in modern times were made in England in 1885 of cocoa butter and quinine sulfite. These or similar materials were used until the 1920s when effervescent tablets which released carbon dioxide and phenyl mercuric acetate were marketed. (Do not try making any concoctions on your own for birth control. Now that so many birth control options exist, there is no reason to take a risk.)
Modern spermicides, introduced in the 1950s, contain agents that damage the sperm cell membranes -- and those of some bacteria and viruses, which explains some of the protection they offer against sexually transmitted diseases. The protection spermicides offer is not complete, so using a condom along with them is the safest way to be protected against contracting these diseases, including AIDS.
Barrier method use was widespread in isolated cultures throughout the world. The Japanese used balls of bamboo paper, Islamic women used willow leaves, and women in some Pacific Islands used seaweed.
Egyptian writings from 1850 B.C. refer to plugs of honey, gum, acacia, and crocodile dung. According to N.E. Himes, in Medical History of Contraception (Baltimore: Williams & Wilkins, 1936), Soranus gave descriptions of 40 concoctions that combined a barrier with spermicidal action.
Mechanical barriers covering the penis have been used for centuries for protection against pregnancy and infection, for decoration, and occasionally to produce penile or vaginal stimulation, according to Robert Hatcher, et al, in Contraceptive Technology (New York: Irvington Publishers, Inc., 1992). A sheath worn over the penis can be traced back as far as 1350 B.C. when Egyptian men wore decorative covers for their penises.
In 1564 A.D., the Italian anatomist Fallopius described the use of linen sheaths. Protective sheaths from animal intestines soon followed. They were the precursors of our current "lambskin" condoms (effective for birth control, but not effective against HIV).
Speroff and Darney state that there are many stories accounting for the origin of the word, condom. Many attribute it to a Dr. Condom, a physician in the 1600s. The most famous story says that Dr. Condom invented the sheath in response to the annoyance displayed by Charles II at the number of his illegitimate children. All attempts to trace this physician have failed, so the origin of the word, condom, has not been proven.
With the creation of vulcanized rubber in the 1840s came the mass production of condoms (or "rubbers") from synthetic materials according to Hatcher. During the 1800s, condoms were available at brothels throughout Europe, but it seems that no culture wanted to claim responsibility for the condom's existence. The French called it "the English cape" and the English called them "French letters."
Related Topics:
Contraceptive knowledge was spread as folk wisdom through oral tradition, since individuals did not consult physicians for this purpose until modern times. Circumstances of ancient times made communication of this knowledge difficult, but even when knowledge was lacking, the desire to avoid pregnancy was not. Many of the techniques involved potions, body movements, and lockets or carved images - essentially magical folklore.
Humans have been quite creative when it comes to birth control ideas over the centuries. Though some notions we have about this part of history are not well documented, many are.
Putting barriers in the vagina is a very old practice. According to Leon Speroff and Philip Darney, in A Clinical Guide for Contraception (Baltimore: Williams & Wilkins, 1992), references to sponges and plugs appear in the earliest of writings. Substances thought to have either barrier or spermicidal properties (or both) have included honey, alum, spices, oils, tannic acids, lemon juice, and, yes, even crocodile dung. The diaphragm and cervical cap, however, were not invented until the late 1800s.
A frequently told, but not well documented story, assigns the first use of IUDs to caravan drivers who allegedly used intrauterine stones to prevent pregnancies in their camels during long journeys, write Speroff and Darney.
Various chemicals have been used for contraception. The first commercially available spermicidal pessaries in modern times were made in England in 1885 of cocoa butter and quinine sulfite. These or similar materials were used until the 1920s when effervescent tablets which released carbon dioxide and phenyl mercuric acetate were marketed. (Do not try making any concoctions on your own for birth control. Now that so many birth control options exist, there is no reason to take a risk.)
Modern spermicides, introduced in the 1950s, contain agents that damage the sperm cell membranes -- and those of some bacteria and viruses, which explains some of the protection they offer against sexually transmitted diseases. The protection spermicides offer is not complete, so using a condom along with them is the safest way to be protected against contracting these diseases, including AIDS.
Barrier method use was widespread in isolated cultures throughout the world. The Japanese used balls of bamboo paper, Islamic women used willow leaves, and women in some Pacific Islands used seaweed.
Egyptian writings from 1850 B.C. refer to plugs of honey, gum, acacia, and crocodile dung. According to N.E. Himes, in Medical History of Contraception (Baltimore: Williams & Wilkins, 1936), Soranus gave descriptions of 40 concoctions that combined a barrier with spermicidal action.
Mechanical barriers covering the penis have been used for centuries for protection against pregnancy and infection, for decoration, and occasionally to produce penile or vaginal stimulation, according to Robert Hatcher, et al, in Contraceptive Technology (New York: Irvington Publishers, Inc., 1992). A sheath worn over the penis can be traced back as far as 1350 B.C. when Egyptian men wore decorative covers for their penises.
In 1564 A.D., the Italian anatomist Fallopius described the use of linen sheaths. Protective sheaths from animal intestines soon followed. They were the precursors of our current "lambskin" condoms (effective for birth control, but not effective against HIV).
Speroff and Darney state that there are many stories accounting for the origin of the word, condom. Many attribute it to a Dr. Condom, a physician in the 1600s. The most famous story says that Dr. Condom invented the sheath in response to the annoyance displayed by Charles II at the number of his illegitimate children. All attempts to trace this physician have failed, so the origin of the word, condom, has not been proven.
With the creation of vulcanized rubber in the 1840s came the mass production of condoms (or "rubbers") from synthetic materials according to Hatcher. During the 1800s, condoms were available at brothels throughout Europe, but it seems that no culture wanted to claim responsibility for the condom's existence. The French called it "the English cape" and the English called them "French letters."
Related Topics:
- WebMD Video: Research - Birth Control Gel with HIV Protection
- WebMD Video: No More Periods - Are Continuous Birth Control Pills Safe?
7 Comments:
is anal intercourse another way to prevent conception
This post has been removed by the author.
Is there any possible way to get a girl pregnant threw anal sex at all what-so-ever?
The anal opening leads to the rectum (the storage area for feces prior to defecation), which is one segment of the large intestine. The large intestine is an organ that is part of the exclusive and fully-enclosed gastrointestinal (GI) tract, which is open at a person's lips, ending at the anal opening. More importantly, regarding your question, the GI system is not directly connected with the reproductive tract; therefore, sperm entering the anus cannot swim through the GI tract to reach the egg in the reproductive tract. Similarly, sperm entering the mouth cannot cause pregnancy.
The only way a woman might possibly become pregnant from anal play is if ejaculated semen is near the opening of the vagina and that semen happens to work its way deep into the vaginal opening. Otherwise, there is no chance of conception with anal sex.
What are the chances of the pregancy from anal sex (in regards to the comment listed above) actually happening?
What are the chances of getting pregnant from anal sex if sperm is present, but you used a spermicide in the vagina already?
Does sperm affect anything if you have anal sex? Can it harm you in any way?
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