What is a condom?

A condom is a thin rubber sheath that a man puts over his erect penis before sex. Wearing a condom during sex reduces the chance of unwanted pregnancy and lowers the risk of transmitting a sexually transmitted infection (STI). If you want to protect yourself against sexually transmitted infections, a 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 expiry date before opening a condom. Can condoms expire? Yes, most condoms made of latex have an expiry date of 5 years. After this, a condom is unsafe to use.

• Feel whether there is an air bubble in the packaging. Condom manufacturers intentionally put an air bubble in the condom packaging. This allows the condom user to easily check whether the packaging and possibly the condom itself have been damaged. Is there no longer an air bubble in the packaging? Then the condom or packaging may have been damaged and it is not safe to use the condom.

• Open the condom packaging 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 at the corner or side.

• Pinch the tip of the condom with your fingertips and place the opening on the tip of your (erect) penis. By pinching the tip of the condom, you create a small amount of space that serves to collect semen.

• Once you have the condom in the right position, you can roll it all the way down. 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 you have a condom that is too small, and it is better (and safer) to use one size larger.

• Check for air. If the tip of the condom feels like there is a lot of air in it, you can easily squeeze it out.

• After sex and ejaculation, it is important to carefully withdraw the condom. Hold the condom at the base and make sure that the condom stays properly in place while you pull out.

• Throw the condom in the trash. It is a good idea to wrap the used condom in a piece of toilet paper before throwing it away. This helps prevent a mess and protects your privacy at the same time. Be careful about flushing condoms down the toilet. This can cause a buildup of latex in the drain.

Is a condom also safe for oral use?

A condom also provides protection against sexually transmitted infections during oral sex. In principle, you can use any condom for this. However, 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 and use a condom following the steps above, it will provide 98% protection. If you open a condom package roughly and put it on in a hurry, the condom will provide 85% protection. This means that 15 out of 100 people still run the risk of a possible pregnancy or transmitting an STI after using a condom. Never use a condom more than once. This makes using a condom much less safe.

The better you are at putting on and using a condom, the smaller the chance that something will go wrong. Unfortunately, even with perfect use, there is still a small chance that something may go wrong. This could 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 a condom in combination with the “withdrawal method.” This involves removing the penis from the vagina before you orgasm or ejaculate. Do you suffer from premature ejaculation? Then we have some useful ways to help solve this!

Using a condom in combination with taking the pill (contraceptive pill) will, of course, reduce the chance of an unwanted pregnancy even further.

Condoms have no side effects

Most people will never experience any side effects from using a condom. However, many people find that sex feels less pleasurable because the penis is stimulated less. 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. Latex-free condoms can be purchased in places where regular condoms are also sold.

How old do you have to be to buy condoms?

Condoms can be purchased at any age. Many boys wonder about this, but there is no legal minimum age for condoms, unlike cigarettes or alcohol.

Lubricant and condoms together

Water- or silicone-based lubricant is always safe to use with any type of latex condom. Using oil-based lubricants such as petroleum jelly or lotion is not recommended in combination with latex condoms. Oil can damage latex condoms and make them unsafe to use. Not sure whether you can combine your lubricant and a condom? Then check the packaging.