Human reproductive fluids and vaginal pH

A human sperm fertilizing an egg

The Photo: A scanning microscope image of a human sperm fertilizing an egg. No form of birth control (except abstinence) is 100% effective so a girl’s worst fear can be realized when a pregnancy is unplanned regardless of why it occurred; from an unprotected casual encounter or from a contraceptive failure. It’s what responsible sexually active women try our best to avoid and what correct use of effective contraceptive methods is all about. Fortunately women facing an unplanned pregnancy now have several options.

pH (potential of hydrogen): The term pH refers to a numerical measure of the acidity or alkalinity of any solution. pH values typically vary across a scale from 0 to 14, with the pH of neutral solutions equal to 7, increasing values have increasing alkalinity and decreasing values have increasing acidity. The pH of the vagina corresponds to the secretions continually produced in conjunction with the vaginal flora.

Normal vaginal pH: pH refers to the vagina’s acidity level. A vaginal pH of 3.8 - 4.5 (slightly acidic) indicates that there is a perfect amount of good bacteria (lactobacilli), and no overgrowth of the bad bacteria that can cause odor, irritation and sometimes infection.  A home vaginal pH test kit measures pH on a scale of 1 to 14. Abnormal vaginal pH may be higher or lower than normal vaginal pH. High vaginal pH numbers indicate less acidity, while lower than normal vaginal pH levels indicate high acidity. Abnormal vaginal pH frequently indicates the presence of a vaginal infection. However, not all vaginal infections cause changes to vaginal pH. This means that having a normal vaginal pH test does not mean that you do not have a vaginal infection.

If the vaginal pH is above normal, the most likely reason is that the woman has bacterial vaginosis (BV) and not a yeast infection. In this case, don't use OTC medications for vaginal yeast infections because the medication does not treat BV. You’ll need to see your doctor for diagnosis and treatment.

On the other hand, if the vaginal pH is normal or below normal and she has had previous vaginal yeast infection diagnosed by a doctor, she could try one of the OTC medications for vaginal yeast infections. If the OTC medication for vaginal yeast infection does not cure the vaginal symptoms or infection, see your doctor for diagnosis and treatment.

 So, what makes pH rise higher than 4.5? There are a surprising number of triggers that can upset the vaginal ecosystem:

• Menstruation: Blood has a pH of 7.4, so during your period, vaginal pH becomes elevated.
• Tampons: Since they retain the fluids that cause pH to increase, tampons can contribute to the problem, especially if you “forget” a tampon and leave it in too long.  
• Intercourse: The pH of semen is 7.1 to 8, slightly alkaline.
• Douching and cleansers: Any vaginal infusion of water or other fluids can affect vaginal pH. The pH of water is 7, and fragrances and perfumes can also irritate the vagina.
• Menopause or pregnancy: These are times where hormones fluctuate, which is associated with elevated pH.
• FCM; Fertile cervical mucus: In normal conditions, fertile cervical mucus has a pH level of 6.5 to 8.5 and should be able to stretch 10cm in either direction. FCM will temporarily decrease the acidity of the vagina to help sperm survive the acidity of the vagina during a woman’s fertile interval.

Semen: A viscous whitish secretion of the male reproductive organs, containing spermatozoa and consisting of secretions of the testes, seminal vesicles, prostate, and bulbourethral glands. It’s also called seminal fluid. The pH of semen is 7.1 to 8, slightly alkaline. 

The average sperm count today is between 20 and 40 million per milliliter in the Western world, having decreased by 1-2% per year, from a substantially higher number, decades ago.

Total sperm count, or total sperm number, is the total number of spermatozoa in the entire ejaculate. By WHO, lower reference limit (2.5th percentile) is 39 million per ejaculate. The median ejaculation (50th percentile) contained 255 million sperm.

Sperm motility: A more specified measure is motility grade, where the motility of sperm is divided into four different grades:

• Grade a: Sperm with progressive motility. These are the strongest and swim fast in a straight line. Sometimes it is also denoted motility IV.
• Grade b: (non-linear motility): These also move forward but tend to travel in a curved or crooked motion. Sometimes also denoted motility III.
• Grade c: These have non-progressive motility because they do not move forward despite the fact that they move their tails. Sometimes also denoted motility II.
• Grade d: These are immotile and fail to move at all. Sometimes also denoted motility I.

Volume: WebMD advises that semen volumes between 1.0 mL and 6.5 mL are normal; WHO regards 1.5 ml as the lower reference limit. Low volume may indicate partial or complete blockage of the seminal vesicles, or that the man was born without seminal vesicles. In clinical practice, a volume of less than 2 mL in the setting of infertility and absent sperm should prompt an evaluation for obstructive azoospermia. A caveat to this is to be sure it has been at least 48 hours since the last ejaculation to time of sample collection.

Semen pH: WebMD lists a normal semen pH range of 7.1-8.0; WHO criteria specify normal as 7.2-7.8 Acidic ejaculate (lower pH value) may indicate one or both of the seminal vesicles are blocked. A basic ejaculate (higher pH value) may indicate an infection. A pH value outside of the normal range is harmful to sperm.

Liquefaction: Liquefaction is the process when the gel formed by proteins from the seminal vesicles is broken up and the semen becomes more liquid. It normally takes less than 20 minutes for the sample to change from a thick gel into a liquid. A liquefaction time within 60 minutes is regarded as within normal ranges.

Spermicides: In order to make barrier contraceptives more effective there are formulations of chemical, Nonoxynol-9 (N-9) and lactic or citric acid mixed with a gel carrier that provides an acidic pH to immobilize sperm should a condom break or a diaphragm leak or become displaced. ContraGel (advertised by its maker not as a spermicide, but as a barrier method when used with a cervical barrier) uses a base of lactic acid with a pH of 3.8 which is hostile to the sperm.

For dive-sex we use a private label product called DiveGel+ (in 10 ml prefilled disposable applicators) which is a specially formulated silicone gel that won’t degrade silicone cervical barriers fortified with a pH balanced biocide and FloraFix a type of Lactobacillus with a pH of 3.8 that helps maintain the acidity of the vagina regardless of how many unprotected men a girl is penetrated by per day. For non-diving encounters the formulation is being rebranded as ‘FloraFix’ and packaged in 5ml disposable applicators and is being used very successfully by our escorts.

My cervical barriers: I dislike using condoms unless the man has an unknown sexual history. I love the skin-on-skin contact which Oves permits me and the feel of a man’s liquefied fluids draining out of me after he has done his biological best to impregnate me. While the rest of my circle is all fitted with copper IUDs I still prefer to use an Oves cervical cap or a diaphragm.  I stocked up on Oves before they went out of business and use them each for multiple cycles, so if I don’t get preggers or have a change to the surface of my cervix I should have enough to last me until menopause. At 42 my fertility is declining, but I still have regular cycles and love how well both Oves and my diaphragm (depending where I am in my cycle) are protecting me.

 

 

Swiss choose FemCap as gas guard

FemCap as Gas Guard: The names of its parts

Gripper soles: A reader asked what ‘grippers’ are and why they are needed on the platforms of the prototypes of Gepetto’s latex toe boots. The grippers on the platforms of the toe boot prototypes are hard to see. They look like closed slits in the .5” thick latex covering the platforms. The thickness of the platforms doesn’t matter since unlike pointe shoes no wearer will be rolling through the foot from flat to pointe or even piquéing on to pointe in them. The wearer is either en pointe when wearing them or she has broken an ankle or has a boot top fracture and needs medical assistance. But to get back to the grippers; when the platform starts to slide the slits open forming a series of suction cups that hold the platform to the slippery surface. Escorts, especially when working with latex fetish clients, find themselves working on all sorts of slippery surfaces; glass topped stages, marble bathroom floors and pool surrounds or studio floors slippery with a mating couples natural lube, semen, fertile cervical fluid, sweat and occasionally other natural secretions that may be underfoot when a couple is having pointe sex. This sort of gripper is very effective even when used to work in situations where the floor or stage is wet with silicone lube.

Jacques reaction to Gigi’s rape: When I told Jacques about Gigi being taken w/o her permission in the common room of her suite in the St Lucy’s dorm he wasn’t as upset as I thought he might be. After he found the partner who had forced himself on her had been screened and was free of STIs he relaxed a bit and because he knows Gigi has a GyneFix inserted he wasn’t concerned about a possible pregnancy. As a Frenchman and expert swordsman he had been in her partner’s position and realized how much trouble the boy could be in if he was charged with rape. Jacques thinks Gigi handled the situation very well w/o involving the authorities. He also doubts that the intense contractions that caused her attacker to tear were entirely spontaneous, which is what I had thought all along. But an accidental tear puts a better spin on her circumstances and keeps hidden the fact that at 16 she has the strength in and control of her vaginal grip that any 25 y/o professional escort would be highly sought after for. She is not a girl a man should upset while trying to have sex with her, but I’m sure she will make that known in her own way and this tearing incident is the first building block in establishing her sexual reputation at St Lucy’s.

Gigi and FemCap: Chuck fitted Gigi for a FemCap so she could have dive-sex in the pit, below 10 meters. She took the smallest, a 22 mm, and he laser trimmed the removal strap off so that she could take large men more comfortably. Fortunately she has long fingers so that even with a deep vagina, when she squats and bears down she can slip a finger between the brim and the vaginal wall to break the seal. For women with short fingers who need the removal strap trimmed off a crochet needle with a 10 mm hook works well as a removal aid by slipping the hook carefully between the vaginal wall and the brim, then rotating the hook beneath the rim of the bowl and pulling to break the seal.

Elke arrives from Switzerland: Anya is back from her inspection of the Swiss finishing school on Lake Maggiore. [For more about that see my December 27, 2009 entry: ‘Jill pads and punitive pointe training’] She brought with her Elke a 31 y/o former ballerina with The Vienna State Opera Ballet and now the head ballet and swimming instructor at the school. Elke came to take an instructors course in dive-sex so it can be offered as an elective starting in the summer session. Elke has a GyneFix implanted and this morning I took her to be fitted for a FemCap. Like me, even though she has never been preggers she takes a 26 mm which she will wear w/o the removal strap so she can take larger men more comfortably - for them. She hadn’t been aware of the dangers to women from using no cervical protection during dive-sex and has quickly become a convert to the use of gas guards since her fiancé has been after her to have dive-sex. While he has penetrated her during their submerged encounter neither of them reached orgasm. But more to the point Elke wants to have children by him and so the need for clear fallopian tubes and good reproductive health is something she is keenly aware of now, not like her teen students many of whom don’t seem to give their reproductive health much thought because marriage and children are years in the future.

FemCap chosen as gas guard: While FemCaps are generally available in Switzerland, Germany and Italy the school plans to fit the caps itself through the Gyn’s in their student health organization. That way it won’t be solely by the student’s obstetrical history but also a thorough pelvic exam so that the Gyn can be certain that when the cap is inserted correctly it will seal and develop a strong vacuum in the dome to hold the cap in place even during the most intense thrusting into it by a partner. Elke says that all the girls who have reached menarche (That’s 450 out of about 600) will be given a classroom introduction to dive-sex and the ones signing up for the course will be fitted for FemCaps. Elke expects 100% of the medically qualified students will take the course because the class will be co-ed and the girls are eager to participate in any program where they can interact with boys and dive-sex is the ultimate male-female interaction. The school administrators are already working with an elite boy’s school in the area to screen boys for STIs as partners for girls taking the dive-sex class.