If you have Crohn's disease, you're probably used to watching your intake. When shopping for a lube, you should exercise some care to choose an appropriate product that won't contribute to a flare-up.
Of course, Crohn's disease is a complex condition, and you should also pay attention to your diet, activity levels, and other factors when evaluating lubricants. There are, however, several ingredients to avoid to minimize your symptoms. Here are a few ingredients to discuss with your doctor.
Remember to keep your physician in the loop when making any changes that could affect your health. Communication plays an important role in the quality of your treatment.
Parabens and Phthalates
Hormonal contraception drugs can affect Crohn's disease patients; logically, lubricants that affect your hormonal production may worsen your symptoms by affecting the function of your digestive tract. Some lube use ingredients that may alter hormonal production, and parabens and phthalates may have this effect.
Phthalates are a common lube ingredient, often used as a softening effect. A study published in Environmental Health Perspective showed that phthalates could potentially affect steroid production, and other studies suggest that phthalates could increase estrogen production. Parabens are used as preservatives.
There's some concern that they could mimic estrogen effects, so you may want to look for a paraben-free lubricant to prevent a possible trigger.
Animal and Milk Proteins
While there's a lot of discussion and controversy about Crohn's triggers, animal proteins clearly seem to cause symptoms in most patients. Most people don't realize that many lube uses animal products in their production.
For example, some sex products contain milk-derived ingredients like lactoperoxidase and casein. Casein, in particular, is a cause for concern for people with Crohn's, but fortunately, it's more common in condoms than in lubricants.
Lactoperoxidase is a milk enzyme and should be safe, but you can switch to a vegan-friendly lube if you'd rather not use any animal products or if you want to be especially careful.
Polyunsaturated Fatty Acids
There seems to be a link between Crohn's symptoms and excessive intake of polyunsaturated fatty acids, specifically omega-3s and omega-6s. These are commonly found in flax oil, canola oil, hemp oil, corn oil, coconut oil, and flax.
You may want to avoid that use a vegetable oil base for this reason. With that being said, polyunsaturated fats can absorb through the skin, but it's unclear whether you could absorb a large enough amount of the fatty acids to aggravate your Crohn's disease.
If you're particularly sensitive to triggers, keep this one in mind when shopping. You should also know that oil-based lubes can damage latex, so stick with a water-based or silicone-based product if you're using latex condoms.
A quick word on different types of penetrative intercourse: anal sex may aggravate symptoms, but it probably won't cause a flare-up. Crohn's affects your intestines and some lower areas of your digestive tract, but not the rectum.
Vaginal sex may cause your symptoms to worsen, but again, you have low chances of triggering a flare-up. However, Crohn's disease affects people differently, so pay attention to your symptoms. You can have safe, fun sex with the right lubricant, and there's plenty of excellent choices available for people with Crohn's.