What is a condom?
A condom is a thin rubber sleeve that a man puts around his erect penis before sex. Wearing a condom during sex reduces the risk of unwanted pregnancy and the risk of transmitting a sexually transmitted disease ( STD ). If you want to protect yourself against sexually transmitted diseases, the condom is still the only option today - apart from not having sex. In this article we cover everything you need to know about using a condom.
How do you put on a condom?
- Always check the expiration date before opening a condom. Can condoms expire? Yes, most condoms made from latex have a shelf life of 5 years. After this, a condom is unsafe to use.
- Feel for air bubbles in the package. Condom manufacturers deliberately add air bubbles to the condom packaging. This allows the user of the condom to easily check whether the packaging and possibly the condom itself has suffered damage. Is there no air bubble left in the packaging? Then the condom or packaging has been damaged and it is not safe to use the condom.
- Open the condom package carefully. The packaging of a condom is easy to open, but be careful not to damage the condom itself. It is best to tear open the packaging in the corner or side.
- Pinch the condom closed with your fingertips and place the opening on the tip of your (erect) penis. By squeezing the tip of the condom you ensure that a small amount of space is released to collect sperm.
- Once you have the condom in the right place, you can roll it down completely. Make sure that the condom covers the entire shaft of the penis. Can't you roll it all the way down or is the condom too tight? Then your condom is too small and it is better (and safer) to use a size larger.
- Check for air. If the tip of the condom feels like there is a lot of air in it, you can easily push it out.
- After sex and ejaculation, it is important that you carefully withdraw the condom. Hold the condom at the base and make sure it stays neatly in place as you withdraw it.
- Throw the condom in the trash. It's a good idea to wrap the used condom in a piece of toilet paper before throwing it away. This way you prevent a mess and protect your privacy at the same time. Be careful when flushing condoms in the toilet. This can cause a build-up of latex in the drain.
Is a condom also safe for oral use?
A condom also offers protection against sexually transmitted infections when used orally. In principle you can use any condom for this. Be careful not to damage the condom with your teeth.
How safe is a condom?
Many people are curious about how safe a condom actually is. If you put on a condom and use it using the steps above, it will provide 98% protection. If you open the package of a condom clumsily and put it on in a hurry, the condom will provide 85% protection. This means that 15 out of 100 people are still at risk of pregnancy or spreading an STD after using a condom. Never use a condom more than once. This makes using a condom a lot less safe
The better you are at putting on and using a condom, the smaller the chance that something will go wrong. Unfortunately, with perfect use there is still a small chance that something will go wrong. This may be due to the way you stored the condom, for example in your wallet.
If you want to be even better protected against unwanted pregnancy, you can always use the condom in combination with the “leaving church before singing” technique. This involves removing the penis from the vagina before you come or ejaculate. Do you suffer from premature ejaculation ? Then we have some handy ways to solve that!
Using a condom in combination with taking the pill (contraceptive pill) will of course reduce the risk of unwanted pregnancy even further.
Condoms have no side effects
Most people will never experience any side effects from a condom. Many people find that sex feels less pleasant as the penis is less stimulated. In very rare cases, condoms can cause irritation in people with a latex allergy.
Are you allergic to latex? Then there are also condoms available without latex. You can buy condoms without latex where normal condoms are also sold.
How old do you have to be to buy condoms?
Condoms can be purchased from any age. Many boys wonder this, but there is no legal minimum age for condoms, unlike cigarettes or alcohol.
Lubricant and condom together
Water or peel icon based lubricant is always safe to use with any type of latex condom. Using oil-based lubricants such as Vaseline or lotion is not recommended in combination with latex condoms. Oil can damage latex condoms and make them unsafe to use. Not sure if you can combine lubricant and a condom? Then read the packaging.