Safer Sex
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Safer Sex
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Safe sex , also known as safer sex, is when you have sex with the lowest risk of sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) such as HIV , herpes , and syphilis . It can make your sex life better by improving communication and trust among you and your partners.
Even though it’s called safe sex, it still carries some risk. But it’s much healthier than sex with no protection at all.
Safe sex is protected sex during every sexual encounter. It includes:
STDs, also known as sexually transmitted infections (STIs), spread during vaginal, oral, or anal sex or close intimate contact. Many of these infections are carried in bodily fluids like semen, blood , or vaginal fluids. Others are on your skin .
Safe sex means not letting your partner's semen or vaginal fluids get inside your vagina , anus , penis , or mouth . It also means avoiding genital skin-to-skin contact, because some STDs spread by touch alone. Safe sex also means being careful if you have cuts, sores, or bleeding gums ; these can raise the risk of spreading disease.
Anyone can get an STD. Young people who have more than one sexual partner, gay men, and bisexual men are at the highest risk.
You might not notice any symptoms. They can differ depending on the disease. The only way to know for sure whether you do or don’t have an STD is to get tested.
The only definite way to prevent HIV or STDs is to not have sex at all. The next safest things would be to limit activities to those listed below or to use condoms. If your partner has HIV or another STD, or if you don't know their sexual history, the safest sexual activities involve things like:
Some STDs never go away, even if you get treatment and don’t have symptoms. If you have one, safe sex can help keep you from giving it to your partner.
Be open with new partners. Talk about past partners, history of STDs, and any drug use.
Don’t have sex while you’re drunk or on drugs. You might forget to use a condom or take part in riskier activities than you usually would.
Get regular medical checkups. Keep an eye out for sores, blisters , rashes , or discharge. Watch for these signs on your partner’s body, too.
Douching after sex doesn’t protect against STDs. In fact, it might spread an infection and wash away spermicide .
You might think you don't need to practice safe sex if both you and your partner have HIV. But safe sex will help protect you from other STDs and other strains of HIV, which might not respond well to medication .
Barriers block many infectious things, including viruses and bacteria. Most people use male condoms made of latex. If your partner won’t use a male condom, try a female condom, which fits inside your vagina . These cost more than male condoms and take a little more practice to learn how to use.
Follow these steps when using condoms and other barriers:
Ask your doctor about medications called pre-exposure prophylaxis ( PrEP ). The FDA has approved emtricitabine / tenofovir alafenamide (Descovy) and emtricitabine/tenofovir disoproxil fumarate ( Truvada ) to prevent HIV infection in people who are at high risk. They can cut your risk of catching HIV through sex by more than 90% and through needles by more than 70%.
Use PrEP along with safe sex methods to lower your HIV risk even more and to keep from getting other STDs.
PrEP has some side effects, like nausea , but they usually go away over time.
AIDS InfoNet: "Safer Sex Guidelines."
American Academy of Family Physicians: "HIV and AIDS: How to Reduce Your Risk."
Gay Men's Health Crisis: "HIV/AIDS Basics."
FDA: "Condoms and Sexually Transmitted Diseases ... especially AIDS."
MedlinePlus: "Medical Encyclopedia: Condoms."
CDC: "Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP)."
Center for Young Women’s Health: “Sexually Transmitted Infections (STIs): General Information.”
Johns Hopkins Medicine: “Safer Sex Guidelines.”
Avert: “Alcohol, drugs, sex & HIV.”
HIV.gov: “Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis.”
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IstockphotoSafer sex is a general term used to describe methods for reducing the chance that you will spread or catch sexually transmitted diseases (STDs, also known as sexually transmitted infections or STIs). The idea is that with a few simple tools and strategies, you can increase safety without sacrificing your sex life.
Use condoms The first and best line of defense is to use a latex barrier whenever you have sex (if you have a latex allergy, use polyurethane instead). That means using a condom on the penis or on a sex toy; latex gloves on your hands; and when engaging in oral sex, dental dams or plastic wrap to cover the anus or vagina.
Get tested for HIV and other STDs Knowing your own status is the only way to approach the next point honestly.
Communicate Safer sex also involves talking with your partner, discussing activities and risks and making educated choices together. Of course, sex raises a number of other questions. Do you trust your partner? How do you get a guy to use a condom if he refuses to do so? What if you are suspicious that your partner is not being monogamous?
Some people choose to avoid risky activities completely or find ways to reduce the complications associated with them—although this strategy still requires honesty, communication, and STD testing.
Be monogamous or abstinent Total abstinence is the only 100% effective safe sex method; it's just not that realistic for most people. Next in line is a long-term monogamous relationship in which both partners know their status to be negative for STDs (itself requiring testing and honest communication), and both stay true to the monogamous ideal.
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A growing number of people are living longer with HIV, with fewer AIDS-related complications and deaths. Preventing transmission of HIV-to others remains a critical element of care to protect both the health of those living with HIV and that of their partners.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends 1 that clinicians who treat patients living with HIV infection integrate routine discussions about safer sexual practices into every office visit.
Recent research suggests that health care provider-initiated brief conversations about sexual behavior at every visit, with every patient, can help HIV-infected patients adopt positive behavior changes, including:
Data from CDC’s STD Surveillance Network (SSuN) 5 indicate that the burden of STDs is greater among HIV-infected men who have sex with men (MSM) than among uninfected MSM. In fact, MSM comprised 72% of all primary and secondary syphilis cases in the United States. Regular screening for STDs provides a benchmark for sexual behavioral assessment for both men and women living with HIV. However, a recently published MMWR report from CDC 6 showed that fewer than 20% of all HIV-infected patients were tested annually for STDs and less than half of them received counseling about available HIV and STD prevention strategies.
Some patients living with HIV do not realize that their behaviors are not “safe.” Others may not understand the virus or how it is transmitted. They may be uncomfortable or unable to disclose their HIV status to sexual or drug-injecting partners. Or they may use alcohol or drugs or have undiagnosed depression, any of which can cause disinhibition and lapses in judgment.
Sometimes health care providers ascribe the difficulty of talking about sex to the patient, but it may be the clinician who is uncomfortable with this subject. Health care professionals cite several barriers to discussing sex, including:
When health care providers are open to talking to patients about their sexual behaviors, patients may be more willing to confide with their health care providers, fostering trust and empathy and building a therapeutic relationship.
Brief conversations offer clinicians unique opportunities to educate patients and normalize discussions about safer sexual behaviors by:
Patients’ health status, relationship status, and personal needs change over time. Therefore, conversations about sexual behaviors should continue and evolve for as long as the patient remains in care.
Following are a few conversation starters to assist health care providers with initiating brief conversations with patients.
Once clinicians have started a brief conversation, they can use the teachable moment to help the patient understand how to protect their overall health and prevent transmission to partners.
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Categories Sex & Intimacy How to Have Safer Sex
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Use latex condoms . External/male condoms should be used for any kind of sex, including vaginal, anal, and oral contact. The external latex condom is easy to use, efficient and cheap. It is also widely available for free at Planned Parenthood locations, other counseling services, a
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