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Translations available in: Chinese, German, Japanese, Korean,
French, Italian, Portuguese or Spanish.
Note: Chinese, Japanese and Korean will require that you have
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| Reviewed / Amended: March 2004 |
Lemons - a History
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There is historical evidence to show that lemon juice in the
vagina was once widely used in the Mediterranean region as a contraceptive,
and Casanova even advocated the use of half a lemon as a forerunner
of today's cervical caps and diaphragms.
Norman Himes in his 1963 classic, Medical History of Contraception,
stated that 'The practice of some Constantinople women of soaking
a sponge in diluted lemon juice and using it as a vaginal tampon
is theoretically not surpassed in reliability by any modern clinical
contraceptive.
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It is well known that the human immunodeficiency virus, HIV, is killed
at low pH's. Fresh lemon juice has a pH of around 2.2-2.6 comparable to
lime juice, but lower than that of other citrus fruits.
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A recent survey in Nigeria
shows that commercial sex workers routinely use a douche
of diluted lemon juice in the belief that it protects them
against sexually transmitted diseases and prevents pregnancy.
Could a sponge or a piece of cotton wool, soaked in
lemon juice, or a very thin slice of lemon placed in the
vagina, be used by women pre-coitally as a protection against
both HIV infection and pregnancy?
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Lemons are indigenous to South and South-East Asia, in one of the regions
of the world most threatened by the growing spread of HIV infection;
they are readily available, and extremely cheap.
It has been estimated that a microbicide with only 60% efficacy
against HIv transmission used by 20% of women in 73 developing
countries could avert more than 2.5 million HIV infections in
men, women and children over 3 years.
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be the first female-controlled method used by women to protect
themselves against HIV infection? This is what we are trying
to prove.
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www.aids.net.au is officially
authorised to carry the Lemons & AIDS story & the
work of the LemonAIDS team |
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