How To Use Condoms

1. Check the expiration date on the condom. Just like perishable food, condoms can go bad (Outdated condoms break easier).
2. Put the condom on before any insertion.
3. One condom per erection, please. (So stock up.)
4. Be careful not to tear the condom when you’re unwrapping it. If it’s torn, brittle, or stiff, toss it and use another.
5. Put a drop or two of lube inside the condom. It’ll help the condom slide on, and it’ll make things more pleasurable for your man.
6. If your partner isn’t circumcised, pull back his foreskin before rolling on the condom.
7. Leave a half-inch of extra space at the tip to collect the semen, then pinch the air out of the tip.
8. Unroll the condom over the penis as far as it will go.
9. Smooth out any air bubbles—they can cause condoms to break.
10. Use lubricant prior to insertion. Avoid oil-based products, such as moisturizer, lotion and Vaseline since they can make latex and polyisoprene condoms less effective.

Storage

• Keep condoms away from heat and light, which can dry them out.
• Don’t use oils or lotions with a condom, only water-based lubricants.
• Carrying a condom in your wallet, where it may be folded or sat on, can also wear down the material and cause the condom to break.
• Don’t open a condom with anything sharp, like scissors or teeth.

What if Condom Is Damaged?

• Contact your doctor about taking PEP (post-exposure prophylaxis) no more than 72 hours after exposure to reduce the chance of contracting HIV. PEP is generally taken for about 28-days, but your health care provider will consider wither PEP is right for you based on the risk of exposure.
• Both partners should be tested for HIV/STDs. People are often not aware that they have an infection but if an infection isn’t treated, it could cause serious problems.

Condom Usage

• Condoms may rip during use if they don’t fit properly or if they are not put on correctly (such as not leaving enough room at the tip of the condom).
• They can tear if there is too much friction and not enough lubrication, or if the condom comes into contact with a person’s nails, rings, piercings, teeth, or other sharp edges.
• A new condom should be used with each act of sex, and should be used from beginning to end.
• Condoms are the only type of birth control that can help prevent both pregnancy and STDs so it’s important to use and store them properly.
• Some might think that using two condoms simultaneously will double protection. This assumption is NOT TRUE. The friction between the two condoms will make them both more likely to tear.

How To Take Off a Condom?

1. After ejaculation or finishing sex, remove penis from partner
2. Hold onto the base of the condom while pulling out to assure semen does not spill out.
3. Throw the condom away in the garbage. Don’t flush it down the toilet! That’s just bad for your plumbing.
4. Wash hands with soap and water.
5. Never re-use a condom – even when ejaculation does not occur – for every instance of vaginal, anal, or oral sex. Used condoms will not be effective.