A Revolutionary Way To Prevent HIV Is In The Works

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By Diana Pearl published 18 August 14

It's not unusual for sexually active women to worry about pregnancy and STIs. But, while there's a bevy of options available for women to prevent pregnancy (oral contraceptives, IUD's, and NuvaRing, to name a few), STIs can get a tad more complicated. Recent scientific developments, though, may put the power completely in a woman's hands (no more finicky condom problems).

Bioengineers at the University of Washington are developing another option, the nitty gritty details of which are published in a new study in the journal Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy. This new alternative comes in the form of a tampon—sort of. Rather, it's a tampon-like device that contains maraviroc, a drug that helps treat HIV, but also may be able to prevent the infection from developing in the first place. Essentially, you insert the device, it turns into a gel, and during intercourse it spreads, preventing a potential HIV infection. To do this, the bioengineers combined maraviroc with silky fibers which dissolve when they are touched by moisture.

Cameron Ball, doctoral student at the University of Washington and lead author of the paper on the topic, says that they were looking for an easy way for women to protect themselves at a moment's notice. "We want something that dissolves quickly so that people can say, 'Hey, I wasn't planning on it, but I'm going to have sex in five minutes so I need to use this product, and I want it to be completely dissolved before that,'" Ball told The Huffington Post.

HIV isn't the only thing researchers are looking to prevent using the fibers—others could include herpes prevention or contraceptives. But don't get too excited about this revolutionary technology—development is still in very early stages, meaning that if all goes well, we won't be able to see the product on shelves for another 10+ years due to the necessary approvals, clinical trials, and research. An improvement well worth waiting for.

Diana Pearl

Diana is a producer at ELLE.com. She previously wrote for MarieClaire.com. Diana is a Syracuse grad and a Chicago native, and therefore a pro at dealing with cold weather. She's also an Anglophile, which means she love all things British—especially Downton Abbey, London, and Will and Kate (and Prince George!)