K-Y Jelly
This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "K-Y_Jelly".

A tube of K-Y Jelly

K-Y Jelly is a water-based, water-soluble personal lubricant produced by Johnson & Johnson. The initials "K-Y" are not known to represent any words — they were described by their originator as "arbitrary letters" — but are retained for their brand-identity.

Introduced in January 1904 by pharmaceutical and suture maker Van Horn & Sawtell of New York City,^[1] and later acquired by Johnson & Johnson, K-Y Jelly's original stated purpose was as a surgical lubricant, and it was often chosen by doctors because of its natural base. The product is now more widely used as a sexual lubricant. It does not react with latex condoms or silicone rubber-based sex toys. While not recommended for ingestion, it has a sweetish taste, so as to not interfere with oral sex. It has a thick consistency and a tendency to dry out during use, but can be "reactivated" by the addition of saliva or more water. K-Y Jelly does not contain a spermicide. A formulation with nonoxynol-9 was available, but Johnson & Johnson pulled it from the market after finding that it could help HIV spread.^[2]

In contrast with petroleum-based lubricants, K-Y is generally biologically inert, and contains no colour or perfume additives. The lubricant has proved extremely popular because it does not stain and is easily cleaned up. K-Y Jelly has been available over the counter in the United States since 1980.^[3] Recently, the product line has expanded to include a liquid lubricant, K-Y Liquid, a warming lubricant, K-Y Warming, and a dual-application liquid lubricant, K-Y Yours and Mine.

K-Y Jelly uses glycerin and hydroxyethyl cellulose as the lubricant, with chlorhexidine gluconate, glucono delta-lactone, methylparaben and sodium hydroxide as antiseptic and preservative additives. The liquid form of the product combines glycerin with propylene glycol, sorbitol, and Natrosol 250H (a brand of hydroxyethyl cellulose) for lubrication, with benzoic acid, methylparaben and sodium hydroxide as additives. An alternative glycerin-free formulation marketed as "K-Y Ultra" contains propylene glycol, sorbitol, Natrosol 250H and polysorbate 60 for lubrication, benzoic acid and methylparaben as preservatives, and vitamin E.

Other uses

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• The jelly is also used in medicine for many procedures that involve insertion of an instrument or fingers into a small or narrow body cavity or past a muscular sphincter, including various small forms of intubation, nasal cavity inspection, endoscopy, and direct digital examinations (e.g., digital rectal examinations).^{citation needed}
• The jelly is often used in psychophysiology as a conductive medium for studies measuring galvanic skin response.
• The jelly is often used in industrial equipment (e.g., grinding pans).^{citation needed}
• The jelly has been used as a thinner for acrylic paints.^{citation needed}
• The jelly is also used in many films to give the appearance of slime, such as in Ghostbusters, Alien, and The Thing.^{citation needed}

• The jelly was mixed with glowstick fluid to make fluorescent "blood" in the film Predator.^{citation needed}
• The jelly is also used as a secret ingredient in soap bubble solution recipes to bolster film strength and the self-healing qualities of the soap film.^{citation needed}

References

External links

• K-Y.com (Official website)