Sex Precautions – As a woman, you shouldn’t be afraid to take control of your sexual health and safety. Being prepared, being ready, and being safe is healthy and wise. Preventing getting or spreading sexually transmitted infections (STIs), such as HIV, gonorrhea, or syphilis, helps both you and your partners stay disease-free. Plus, smart use of birth control can help you avoid an unplanned pregnancy.
Research your birth control options to prevent Sex Precautions
Birth control options are expanding. Today, daily pills, monthly injections, vaginal rings, and intrauterine devices are all options for preventing pregnancy if you are sexually active. Talk with your healthcare provider about your birth control options if you are or may become sexually active. At each yearly check-up, discuss your lifestyle changes and decide if your birth control option is still the right one for you. Also, if your birth control is causing unwanted side effects (such as dizziness or decreased sex drive), work with your doctor to find a birth control option that works better.
If you are sexually active or have been in the Past, it’s important you are checked regularly for STIs. Some diseases that are contracted through Sexual Encounters do not cause significant symptoms or signs until several weeks, months, or even years after you’ve contracted them. By the time you find out you have the STI, you may have unknowingly shared it with someone. Likewise, a partner may unknowingly share an STI with you. That’s why you should be tested often. It’s the only way you’ll know for sure if you—and your partner who is tested with you—are clean. Your general practitioner can conduct the test. You can also visit your Country’s department of health or a local family planning clinic.
Use protection every time and don’t forget about Sex Precautions
It might seem like trite advice, But the Best way to prevent pregnancy and lower your risk, for getting an STI is to use barrier protection correctly every time you have a sexual encounter. Male condoms are the most common form of protection. If your Partner does not want to use a male condom, you can use a female condom. (More is not better—using both a male and female condom can cause one or both to break.) (1) If you or your partner is allergic to traditional latex condoms, Polyurethane CondomS are Available. Also, natural condoms, often made from lambskin, can prevent pregnancy, But they do not protect against HIV or other STIs. You can purchase condoms at almost any pharmacy or mass-market retailer. Your Doctor’s Office or Local health department may offer free condoms. (1, 2, 3)
The best key to a good relationship is the Communication
Be honest about your Sexual past, your preferences, And your decision to Practice safe sex. This way, you and your partner can communicate openly. It’s important that the two of you share your sexual histories so that you can find out about potential STIs or diseases. Some STIs are not curable; you will want to use protection to prevent receiving any incurable STIs from a partner. Also, discussing your past opens up the path to talk about Testing for STIs.
Abstain from Sex
You can contract STIs from “Vaginal”, “Anal”, and “Oral Sex”. The only way to be 100% sure you’ll prevent an unplanned pregnancy or an STI is to not have SEX or to abstain. Make a decision to abstain from sex until you’re emotionally and physically ready. Share this decision with any partners, too, as a way to keep yourself accountable. Sharing your decision to abstain from SEX until you’re in a committed, monogamous relationship opens up channels for discussion with your Partner and can help the two of you be more honest about your sexual health.
This fact is simple: The more people you are sexually involved with, the more likely you are to get an STI or to get pregnant. Limit your number of sexual partners. Each new partner brings a history of other sexual partners, sexual encounters, and potential infections. If you’re not in a monogamous relationship, being smart about your sexual encounters can help keep you safe.
Or better yet, be monogamous
Apart from abstinence, the best way to prevent contracting an STI is to be part of a long-term, one-partner relationship. As long as the two of you remain faithful to one another, you may reach a point in your relationship where you decide to have sex without barrier protection. (If one of you has an STI, you may want to continue using barrier protection, even if you’re monogamous, to prevent transmitting the infection.) However, this pact only works if both of you remain monogamous. If your partner begins having sexual encounters outside your relationship, you may contract STIs without knowing it. (2)
Use protection for all types of sexual encounters
You can only get pregnant from vaginal sex, of course, but you can contract an STI from vaginal, anal, and oral sex. For that reason, protection is a must in any sexual encounter. Using male condoms or dental dams can help keep you from contracting an STI, such as HIV, during oral sex. Male condoms can also prevent sharing an STI during anal sex. Both female and male condoms are good for vaginal sex but do not use them together.
Be careful of the products you are using to entertain your active sex life
Don’t be quick to use a douche or vaginal wash. These products can remove normal, healthy bacteria—bacteria that could actually help prevent infection. If you use these washes frequently, you increase your risk of getting an STI.
Use a lubricant when you have sex. Condoms can tear or rip if you or your partner is not properly lubricated. Lubricants can also prevent skin tearing during sex. Open skin is an avenue for sharing STIs. Use water- or silicone-based lubricants, not oil-based lubricants. Oil-based lubricants can actually increase the risk of condom tearing. Read all directions on the condom box to make sure you’re using it properly.
Cleaned sex toys, can prevent infections
You and your partner may turn to sex toys as a way to add interest to your relationship. These devices cannot get you pregnant, but they can still spread STIs and other infections. Wash and sterilize any sex toys between uses. You can also use latex condoms on sex toys. This will help keep them clean and reduce the likelihood you’ll get an infection. Read the directions that come with the device to learn the best way to clean it. Different materials require different cleaning methods. (2)
Sex is not a word it is also part of your Health
Sex is not always the easiest topic to bring up with a new partner—or even a partner you’ve had for a while. It can be uncomfortable, but it’s important. Safe sexual practices keep you and your partner healthy. Before your first sexual encounter, it’s smart to have a discussion about your behaviors, preferences, history, and choices for protection. Being proactive about this talk helps prevent heat-of-the-moment decisions that can lead to long-term regrets.
Sex Precautions will help you remember to use the Perfect Condoms
Correct and consistent use of condoms:
“CONDOM” use can be traced back several thousand years. It is known that around 1000 BC, the ancient Egyptians used a linen sheath for protection against disease, which was found useful for prevention. Later on, the usefulness of condoms for pregnancy prevention was recognized. From the early 1960s, the Use of condoms as a contraceptive device declined, as pills, coils, and sterilization became more popular. The emergence of HIV and the identification of Sexually transmitted infections (STIs) as a co-factor have revived our interest in condoms.
(1) condom usage in India has increased from 2.1% in 1992–93 National Family Health Survey- 1 (NFHS-1) to 5.2% in 2005–06 (NFHS-3) among males, aged between 15–54 years.
(2) However, condoms are not 100% safe, but if used consistently and correctly, will reduce the risk of pregnancy and/or STIs significantly. Of 100 women whose partners use condoms, approximately 15 will become pregnant during the first year of typical use, but only two women will become pregnant with perfect use. Typical use means “When usage is not consistent or always correct, whereas perfect use refers to consistent and always correct usage”.
(3) Although many people wrongly assume that all men know the correct way to use condoms, the fact is, that incorrect usage is common and it is a major cause of condom failure. The majority of these failures are caused by human errors, including not using enough lube and creating microscopic tears with rings.
More options to prevent Sex Precautions
And using long, sharp, or jagged fingernails; unrolling a condom backward and not towards the base of the penis; not leaving a half-inch of empty space at the tip of the condom, and not holding the rim of the condom down along the base of the penis when removing the penis after ejaculation.
Inconsistent condom use means–not using a condom every time you have sex (vaginal, anal, or oral); or not putting the condom on right time (such as right before ejaculation instead of at the beginning of intercourse), before the penis comes in contact with your partner’s genitals.
A survey on condom usage revealed that 42% of the surveyed males did not use a condom from the start and/or to the completion of penetrative sex; 23% did not leave a space at the receptacle tip, and 81% did not use a water-based lubricant.
(4) The CDC showed results were observed in a US-based study.
(5) Studies have shown that people who make more errors have higher rates of STD infection.
(6) Hence, the tendency to assume that condom users are using them correctly and consistently, seriously underestimates their risk of transmitting or contracting STDs or becoming pregnant unintentionally. That ain’t enough to encourage people to use condoms.
REFERENCES
1. Condom history, effectiveness, and availability. [last accessed on 28 Feb 2009]. Available from: http://www.avert.org/condoms.htm
2. National Family Health Survey (NFHS-3), 2005–06: India. I. Mumbai: IIPS; 2007. International Institute for Population Sciences (IIPS) and Macro International. 2007. [Google Scholar]
3. The condom. [last accessed on 28 Feb 2009]. Available from: http://www.plannedparenthood.org/health_topics/birthcontrol/condoms_10187.htm#effective
4. Condom use errors are frequently reported by rural Indiana men. [last accessed on 28 Feb 2009]. Available from: http://www.newsonfo.in.edu/new/page/normal/2609.html
5. Grimley DM, Annang L, Houser S, Chen H. Prevalence of Condom Use Errors among STD Clinic Patients. Am J Health Behav. 2005;29:324–30. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
Are Condoms Great To Use?
Condoms are great at preventing both pregnancy and STDs. If you follow the instructions and use them every time you have vaginal, anal, or oral sex, there’s very little chance of pregnancy, or getting or giving an STD.
How effective are condoms against pregnancy?
If you use condoms perfectly every single time you have sex, they’re 98% effective at preventing pregnancy. But people aren’t perfect, so in real life, condoms are about 85% effective — that means about 15 out of 100 people who use condoms as their only birth control method will get pregnant each year.
The better you are about using condoms correctly every time you have sex, the better they’ll work. But there’s a small chance that you will get pregnant even if you always use them the right way.
Want even more protection from pregnancy? Check out IUDs and implants, or take this quiz to find the birth control method that’s best for you.
How can I make condoms more effective?
The best way to make condoms work as well as possible is to use them correctly every single time you have vaginal, oral, and anal sex. That means wearing it the whole time, from start to finish. The condom needs to be in on the penis the right way. It is important before there’s any skin-to-skin genital contact. Read more about how to use condoms correctly.
Additional Recommendations on Sex Precautions
Using condoms + other forms of birth control (like the pill, IUD, or shot) is a great way to get extra pregnancy prevention AND protection against STDs. Using withdrawal (“pulling out”) while also wearing a condom can help keep sperm out of the vagina and lower the risk of pregnancy. You shouldn’t use a condom worn on the penis together with an internal condom. Condoms are designed to be used on their own, and doubling up won’t necessarily give you extra protection. One condom used correctly is all the protection you need. Also, make sure your condoms aren’t expired — check the date on the wrapper or box.
by: Health Illusions