Elderly South Africans requested to stop rubbing their knees with condoms

Free condoms distributed to reduce the spread of HIV in South Africa are being used by the elderly in attempts to relieve arthritis, according to a government official. Mpumalanga district health chief Candith Mashego-Dlamini has issued a statement asking people to stop rubbing the contraceptives on their knees to ease joint pain.



“MEC (Member of the Executive Council) Mashego-Dlamini was discouraging the elderly when she heard about them rubbing their knees with condoms. She called on those who were practising to stop as condoms are meant for something other than rubbing knees,'' her spokesman Ronnie Masilela said.

Joe Maila, spokesman for Health Minister Aaron Motsoaledi, said there is ''no scientific proof'' that the condom's lubricant can help arthritis sufferers. But a grandmother from Cape Town, who asked not to be named, disagrees. She has been using condoms for three years. "It is not a cure for my arthritis, but it eases the pain,'' she said. Another woman said she uses them to clean her CDs.


YouTube link.

Other people use them to shine their shoes. "You take the condom out of the wrapper and simply rub it on the shoes. It is better than shoe polish because it keeps my black shoes shiny for longer,'' said an advertising executive.  A man from Johannesburg said he keeps condoms in his emergency kit when he goes hiking. "My wife was really upset when she found the condoms but you can carry water in it!'' he said. Maila warned that people using condoms for other reasons are being ''extremely irresponsible''.