How to have safer sex

Before Sex use a new condom every time you have sex – before foreplay, before your penis gets anywhere near any body opening to avoid exposure (to any body fluid that can carry infection). Handle the condom gently.

Put condom on as soon as penis is hard. Be sure rolled-up ring is on the outside. And leave space at the tip to hold semen when you come.

Squeeze tip gently so no air is trapped inside. Hold tip while you unroll condom…all the way down to the hair. If condom doesn’t unroll, it’s on wrong. Throw it away. Start over with a new one.

After sex pull out slowly right after you come, while penis is still hard. Hold condom in place on penis to avoid spilling semen. Turn and move completely away before you let go of condom. Dispose of used condom properly, NOT in the toilet. And no more sex without a new condom. ADVICE FROM THE MAKERS OF TROJAN CONDOMS Safer Sex Guide
This guide focuses on the basics of safer sex, and on how to make whatever precautions you choose feel as pleasurable as possible. Safer sex precautions are obviously not necessary when neither you nor your partner(s) have anything you could transmit to each other (and will be completely safe in your interactions with anyone else during the course of your relationship, and when birth control is not an issue, etc.), but in all other cases your health and peace of mind can be enhanced by playing safely.

Intercourse

The single most effective thing you can do to stay healthy while being sexually active is to use latex condoms for intercourse (whether vaginal or anal). All condoms are not made alike; men should experiment with different brands until they find the one they like best (many men prefer Kimono MicroThins, which also taste fine for fellatio if you get them without Nonoxynol-9). When you put on a condom, pinch its tip as you unroll it (all the way down!) to prevent an air bubble from forming in the reservoir tip. For intercourse, you should then put some water-based lube (such as I-D, ForPlay, Wet, Probe, or Astroglide) on the outside of the condom for comfort, mutual pleasure, and to keep the condom from tearing during sex (some men find that more sensation is transmitted to them if they put a small amount of water-based or silicone-based lube INSIDE the tip of their condom before putting it on). It’s very important for men to hold onto the base of their condom as they withdraw (i.e. after becoming soft) so it doesn’t slip off.

For a while, health experts were recommending that people choose safer sex products with Nonoxynol-9 to protect against HIV transmission; current evidence suggests that Nonoxynol-9 isn’t nearly as effective at HIV prevention as it is at contraception, and if you have a sensitivity or allergy to this substance (as many people do) regular exposure to it might actually decrease your level of protection against HIV by irritating delicate vaginal or (especially) anal tissues.

If a condom fails during vaginal or anal intercourse, the receptive partner shouldn’t douche; if any Nonoxynol-9 contraceptive foam is handy it might help for him or her to insert it and leave it in for about 15 minutes, and it would certainly help to immediately remove the condom from inside the vagina or anus if it was left there. Men can give themselves a little extra protection after potentially being exposed to an STD by immediately visiting the restroom, urinating, and then possibly washing their genitals with an anti-bacterial soap.

It should be obvious that a new condom needs to be used for each new partner, and that condoms should not be reused. Also, if you’re going to switch from anal intercourse to vaginal intercourse, you should put on a new condom to avoid causing vaginal infections.

Oral Sex

Opinions differ on the use of safer-sex barriers for oral sex. It’s clear that herpes can be transmitted from genitals to mouth or mouth to genitals during unprotected oral sex, but some people feel the risk is acceptably low outside of the most infectious period (which starts with the tingling “prodrome” sensations that precede an outbreak, and continues to two weeks after the herpes sores go away). You can on rare occassion pick up a bacterial infection by going down on someone who currently has a bacterial STD (typically Gonorrhea, more rarely Syphillis or Cancroid), but these can generally be cured with antibiotics once they’re identified.

It is clear that the risk of transmitting HIV is much, MUCH lower for unprotected oral sex than for unprotected anal or vaginal intercourse, and that the risk is lower for the person being sucked or licked than for the person doing the sucking or licking. For the person doing the sucking or licking, the risk of transmission is even lower if your gums (and lips/mouth/throat) are healthy, if you don’t let men come in your mouth, and if you don’t perform cunnilingus on a woman while she is menstruating.

Some sex educators recommend NOT flossing or brushing your teeth for two hours before giving unprotected oral sex (use Cool Mint Listerine or some other anti-bacterial mouthwash if you’re concerned about bad breath or just want to freshen up), and others recommend quickly looking over the genitals you’re about to go down on for signs of contagious STDs (including genital warts, which can on rare occassion be transmitted from genitals to mouth). If your policy for performing unprotected fellatio is to not let your partner come in your mouth and he does so anyway, it’s better to immediately spit than to either wait or swallow, and it may help (especially for bacterial STDs) to then go use an anti-bacterial or peroxide mouthwash. Pre-cum can contain HIV, and although not letting men come in your mouth SIGNIFICANTLY reduces your already low risk to even lower levels, if you are concerned about becoming infected via pre-cum while performing fellatio you have two risk-reduction options: not taking the head of his penis in your mouth or using barriers for oral sex.

If you decide that your personal safety standards include barriers for oral sex, then you’ll need to use latex condoms (without Nonoxynol-9) for fellatio, and either saran wrap or one of those “Glyde” dams for cunnilingus (for cunnilingus, put a little water-based lube on your partner’s side of the barrier to increase the sensation transmitted to her). The same barrier techniques used for cunnilingus can also be used for analingus (rimming), where they should be considered essential if the person doing the licking isn’t immunized against hepatitis A or if the person being licked may have a bacterial infection.

Your Hands

If you’ve had your fingers in someone’s vagina, or had someone come on your hands, then it’s a good idea to wash your hands with hot water and anti-bacterial soap before touching your eyes or anyone else’s genitals. If your skin is compromised in any way, if you want to avoid needing to leave the scene to wash your hands, if you’re going to be engaging in anal fisting or exposing yourself to any blood, or if you just want to be extra-safe, then try using latex “examination” gloves – they’re available at most drug stores.

If you’ve just had your ungloved fingers in somebody’s ass, then you’ll want to be sure to clean your hands particularly thoroughly (especially under your fingernails!) before putting your them in or near your mouth.

Safer Sex Kits

It’s helpful to get a little hip pack for your safer-sex supplies, your smaller bottle of water-based lube, and anything else you commonly use. You might also want to pack a portable toothbrush and a travel-sized toothpaste tube in case you end up staying overnight somewhere.

Vaccinations

There are two STDs for which permanent vaccines are available: hepatitis B and hepatitis A. Hepatitis B can be spread easily through intercourse and (less easily) through oral sex or rimming, and hepatitis A is easily spread through rimming. Getting these two vaccinations (which you can do at the same time) would be an excellent idea if you don’t always use barriers for these activities.