Whether or not you have sex, it happens. And in college, it happens a lot. Health centers and groups are constantly supplying students with information about how to protect yourself and your partner (or yourself from your partner) with baskets of free condoms and presentations on safe sex. The topic of contraceptives is one of the most important covered, but it might soon be time for colleges to start updating their information.
In my quick research of female contraceptives, the options for women are numerous. The choices include the patch, shot, implant, sponge, ring, diaphragm, IUD, female condom and of course, the well-known pill. While men can wear condoms and use the unreliable option of pulling out, it’s women that have the majority of pressure from society to make sure they have one of these many forms of birth control in their system.
For the years that I’ve read magazines like Glamour and Cosmopolitan, they continually ask men in annual surveys if they would take male birth control if it were available; the majority answering yes or leaning towards heavy consideration. While there isn’t a pack of pills, IUD, or implant for men, there is a breakthrough in male contraceptives.
Dr. Sujoy K Guha has developed a procedure called “Reversible inhibition of sperm under guidance,” or RUSAG. The way it works is a polymer gel is injected into the vas deferens, which are located in a man’s scrotum. The gel kills the sperm traveling through. The procedure itself is minimally invasive and takes all of fifteen minutes. A local anesthetic is applied before doctors make a tiny incision and then inject the gel with a quick shot. The incision is so small that it doesn’t even require stitches and the effects are almost immediate.
Though RUSAG may sound momentarily uncomfortable, the effects definitely outweigh that tiny pinch. According to Dr. Guha and the studies that have been done on the procedure, it is 100% effective at preventing pregnancy. The only other contraceptive options that get even close to or completely guarantee 100% effectiveness are vasectomies, female sterilization, the IUD and the birth control implant. The effects of RUSAG last at least 10 years and, unlike a vasectomy, it is reversible and sperm returns within a few months time. It is extremely convenient for partners because the procedure itself is extremely cheap and those who are at no risk of getting STDs or STIs will no longer have any need for condoms. However, it is important to note that the procedure does not protect against STDs and STIs, so both male and female condoms should be used if you do not know your partner’s sexual health.
The procedure is currently being patented in countries like India, China and Bangladesh. And in the United States, the injection has been named Vasalgel and is going through the process to be approved by the FDA. According to the Huffington Post, researchers are hoping that it will become available by 2015.
What does RUSAG mean specifically for college students? Since sex happens frequently, contraceptives are always important; especially since a large percentage of those encounters happen under the influence. This a huge breakthrough if you’re a collegiette who is on the pill. Although a missed pill is still a bad habit to create, if guys are also using birth control then it takes some of the stress off of that missed pill. If college men decide to get the procedure, partners will no longer have to worry about not having condoms or forgetting to pull out. Also it will 100% ensure that last night’s hook up doesn’t result in an unwanted pregnancy. But, until RUSAG is approved by the FDA, students will have to continue to choose from the multitude of female birth control and reach into their health center’s grab basket of condoms.
References:
http://www.plannedparenthood.org/
http://www.malecontraceptives.org/methods/risug.php
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/04/03/male-birth-control-reversible_n_1400708.html
http://www.dvice.com/archives/…
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