# I know medical personnel used to reuse needles, but...... **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [June 12, 2016, 5:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-know-medical-personnel-used-to-reuse-needles-but/757172 "2016-06-12T05:23:06Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![spamforbrains](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e274bd/32.png) [@spamforbrains](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/spamforbrains)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2016, 3:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-know-medical-personnel-used-to-reuse-needles-but/757172/21 "2016-06-13T03:27:29Z")
> [@](#): > > Well, how long would the STDs live? some viruses can live for very long periods of time, just waiting for an opportunity. ---
**Author:** ![Alley\_Dweller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alley_dweller/32/430_2.png) [@Alley\_Dweller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alley_Dweller)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2016, 3:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-know-medical-personnel-used-to-reuse-needles-but/757172/22 "2016-06-13T03:34:22Z")
> [@spamforbrains](#): > > some viruses can live for very long periods of time, just waiting for an opportunity. But not on toilet seats or door knobs? I’ve heard so many times that you can’t get STDs from toilet seats or door knobs. Is this really true? ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2016, 4:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-know-medical-personnel-used-to-reuse-needles-but/757172/23 "2016-06-13T04:49:52Z")
I don’t know of any STD virus or bacteria that survives on surfaces for more than a few hours under real world conditions. But the look of utter disgust and the echo of the door slamming behind your latest attempted conquest will last forever. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2016, 5:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-know-medical-personnel-used-to-reuse-needles-but/757172/24 "2016-06-13T05:39:37Z")
> [@nearwildheaven](#): > > I’ve heard of teenagers using potato chip bags. I can’t imagine that being pleasurable for either partner. This was from a very reliable source, too. > > :eek::eek: Just to be clear, they do eat the potato chips first, yes? ---
**Author:** ![JacobSwan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/a6a055/32.png) [@JacobSwan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JacobSwan)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2016, 8:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-know-medical-personnel-used-to-reuse-needles-but/757172/25 "2016-06-13T08:56:07Z")
> [@nearwildheaven](#): > > Do you think it might be on You Tube? I’d love to see it. 😛 > > I’ve seen, marketed as a gag bridal shower gift, the “Reusable Condom for Cheap Fuckers”. :o Here you go: It was parodied by a lot of comedians at the time. ---
**Author:** ![Mona\_Lisa\_Simpson](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ce7236/32.png) [@Mona\_Lisa\_Simpson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mona_Lisa_Simpson)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2016, 3:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-know-medical-personnel-used-to-reuse-needles-but/757172/26 "2016-06-13T15:40:45Z")
No cites, or none I feel like looking g up on my phone, but I seem to recall 1970s or maybe 1960s Era books about contraception that advised washing and re rolling condoms. The advice seemed to be to use corn starch to dust them condom so it wouldn’t stick. It seems a little nasty noe a days but I know that information was around. Possibly in an early edition of “Our Bodies: Our Selves”? ---
**Author:** ![cwthree](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9de0a6/32.png) [@cwthree](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cwthree)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2016, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-know-medical-personnel-used-to-reuse-needles-but/757172/27 "2016-06-13T20:01:18Z")
> [@Mona\_Lisa\_Simpson](#): > > No cites, or none I feel like looking g up on my phone, but I seem to recall 1970s or maybe 1960s Era books about contraception that advised washing and re rolling condoms. The advice seemed to be to use corn starch to dust them condom so it wouldn’t stick. > > It seems a little nasty noe a days but I know that information was around. Possibly in an early edition of “Our Bodies: Our Selves”? Yes, that’s from “Our Bodies: Our Selves” (and possibly elsewhere). My copy was new some time in the 1980’s. I recall the bit about re-use referred only to natural skin condoms, which are both more expensive and somewhat more durable than latex condoms. I don’t know if newer editions of OBOS still include the part about re-using condoms. I do remember being advised not to use them because the lamb gut is naturally porous; the pores are small enough that sperm and bacteria can’t get through (so the condoms are effective against pregnancy and many STDs) but big enough that viruses can (so they aren’t effective against HIV). ---
**Author:** ![Doctor\_Jackson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doctor_jackson/32/32_2.png) [@Doctor\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doctor_Jackson)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2016, 8:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-know-medical-personnel-used-to-reuse-needles-but/757172/28 "2016-06-13T20:15:59Z")
> [@spamforbrains](#): > > I think that might result in a very high rate of unwanted pregnancies… > [@Siam\_Sam](#): > > How long would the sperm live? Maybe it would be okay after a period of time and not a threesome situation. > [@spamforbrains](#): > > Not sure, but turning it inside out would also defeat the other reason for using a condom, to not pass on STDs. That’s why you wipe it off on the drapes first. ---
**Author:** ![SpeedwayRyan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ce7236/32.png) [@SpeedwayRyan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SpeedwayRyan)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2016, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-know-medical-personnel-used-to-reuse-needles-but/757172/29 "2016-06-13T20:38:01Z")
It’s easy to reuse a condom. After you are done, just turn it inside out and shake the fuck out of it. ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2016, 11:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-know-medical-personnel-used-to-reuse-needles-but/757172/30 "2016-06-13T23:37:15Z")
> [@cwthree](#): > > Yes, that’s from “Our Bodies: Our Selves” (and possibly elsewhere). My copy was new some time in the 1980’s. I recall the bit about re-use referred only to natural skin condoms, which are both more expensive and somewhat more durable than latex condoms. > > I don’t know if newer editions of OBOS still include the part about re-using condoms. I do remember being advised not to use them because the lamb gut is naturally porous; the pores are small enough that sperm and bacteria can’t get through (so the condoms are effective against pregnancy and many STDs) but big enough that viruses can (so they aren’t effective against HIV). I actually have a copy of the original OBOS from the early 1970s, and should go look that up to see if it’s true. (Just got back) It is. It says (paraphrasing), “A high-quality condom can be reused 5 or 6 times; soak it briefly in a glass of water, dry it, dust with cornstarch, and re-roll it.” :eek: A decade later when I was a teenage Target cashier, EVERY.SINGLE.TIME a teenage boy would purchase ANYTHING, he would always toss in a package of condoms, just to embarrass us girls. (This was shortly before AIDS was identified and later hit the news big-time.) 😛 The lambskin Fourex brand was especially popular, because they were so expensive - IIRC, about $10 for a package of 3 or 4. The really funny thing is that I cannot recall any of these boys ever actually purchasing them. 😕 During this time, the store manager’s wife bought a package of them, and that got around the store in about 0.05 seconds. I was one of the few people who didn’t think it was uproariously funny; I replied, “What’s the big deal? They probably just don’t want to have a baby right now.” ---
**Author:** ![spamforbrains](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e274bd/32.png) [@spamforbrains](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/spamforbrains)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2016, 1:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-know-medical-personnel-used-to-reuse-needles-but/757172/31 "2016-06-14T01:26:09Z")
If there are no spermicides in your condom, some people guess the sperm might live for up to a day (no one studies this, why would they?). Many bacteria can live for long periods of time on dry surfaces. Polio can live for months on surfaces. Influenza and cholera can live for a few days on surfaces. HPV, HIV, and herpes can live for up to a week on surfaces. Syphilis, however, dies instantly. Therefore, if you get a lot of infected semen or vaginal fluids on a surface, I would strongly suggest not ever placing said surface in direct contact with someone’s genitals, just in case. ---
**Author:** ![Oglomott](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/oglomott/32/3543_2.png) [@Oglomott](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oglomott)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2016, 2:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-know-medical-personnel-used-to-reuse-needles-but/757172/32 "2016-06-14T02:41:50Z")
> [@nearwildheaven](#): > > I’ve heard of teenagers using potato chip bags. I can’t imagine that being pleasurable for either partner. This was from a very reliable source, too. > > :eek::eek: Is that why they call them Lay’s? 😃 ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2016, 5:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-know-medical-personnel-used-to-reuse-needles-but/757172/33 "2016-06-14T05:25:17Z")
> [@spamforbrains](#): > > Therefore, if you get a lot of infected semen or vaginal fluids on a surface, I would strongly suggest not ever placing said surface in direct contact with someone’s genitals, just in case. That reminded me of this little snippet during the 2014 Ebola scare. [![]( " - YouTube") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E6Wrdal-zto) 😛 :eek: :smack: ---
**Author:** ![Mona\_Lisa\_Simpson](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ce7236/32.png) [@Mona\_Lisa\_Simpson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mona_Lisa_Simpson)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2016, 5:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-know-medical-personnel-used-to-reuse-needles-but/757172/34 "2016-06-14T05:52:49Z")
> [@nearwildheaven](#): > > I actually have a copy of the original OBOS from the early 1970s, and should go look that up to see if it’s true. The very first edition of OBOS had a section in it on Zodiac Or Horoscope based Birth Control. Later editions said don use it it doesn’t work it isn’t true. I was always curious what that would even be. I have always been on the look out for a first edition, but have never found the edition with that particular advice in it. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2016, 6:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-know-medical-personnel-used-to-reuse-needles-but/757172/35 "2016-06-14T06:17:56Z")
> [@spamforbrains](#): > > If there are no spermicides in your condom, some people guess the sperm might live for up to a day (no one studies this, why would they?). Yes they do. Why wouldn’t they? There are detailed studies on the viability of sperm outside the body, and the effects of various factors on motility, etc. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-know-medical-personnel-used-to-reuse-needles-but/757172.md?page=1)