What To Do If The Condom Breaks

What To Do If The Condom Breaks

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A condom that is worn incorrectly or used past its expiration date during sex can break or slip off, putting you at risk of pregnancy or sexually transmitted infections (STIs). Here's your plan of action should accidental breakage or slippage happen.

The CDC stated that three major things should be done at the moment of a condom break: immediately stop sexual activity, withdraw, and remove the broken condom to replace it with a new one. Also, depending on your situation, other actions may be necessary to take after an experience with a broken condom.

If you know you have been exposed to HIV—or suspect it's even remotely possible you were exposed—see your healthcare provider and ask for post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP), a preventive treatment for HIV that may keep you from being infected.

The treatment is a month-long course of HIV antiretroviral medications. The treatment is most effective if you start the medications right away but should be taken within 72 hours of possible exposure, according to the National Institutes of Health (NIH) . Additionally, side effects can include extreme nausea and fatigue, but in most cases, the side effects from the medications are not life-threatening.

If you don't have a provider, you can find PEP by calling a health clinic, an AIDS service organization, or your local health department or by visiting an emergency room.

As for STIs, see your healthcare provider for a full panel of tests or arrange to be tested at a health clinic. You may not be able to prevent infection, but the tests will likely reveal if you have been infected—and the sooner you start treatment to cure the disease or ease symptoms, the better.

You can also take emergency contraception, known as the morning-after pill. The most common morning-after pills are tablets containing high doses of levonorgestrel, a synthetic progestin hormone that is also in birth control pills. Brand names include Next Choice One Dose, My Way, and Plan B One-Step .

Emergency contraception is available over the counter and can reduce the risk of pregnancy by 75-89% if taken within 72 hours of sex. It's most effective when taken right away; taking it within 24 hours is encouraged. Many women's health organizations recommend purchasing it before you need it, so you have it on hand if you ever do. You can buy it at a pharmacy in person or online; you can also get it at a women's health center.

Oral emergency contraception is safe to take, but side effects may include nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain, fatigue, headache, and menstrual changes. If you experience severe abdominal pain, seek medication attention. If your period is more than a week late after taking Plan B or another morning-after pill, you might be pregnant and should get tested.

Finally, you might also decide to get a copper T IUD, which can serve as emergency contraception after having unprotected (or condomless) sex—per the CDC . The IUD would need to be placed inside the uterus within five days after the condom break or slip in order to be most effective. You'll want to talk with your healthcare provider to see if this option might be right for you.

Once the immediate crisis is over, put some thought into why the condom broke. "These accidents don't happen easily," Perry N. Halkitis, PhD , a psychologist specializing in HIV at New York University, told Health . "Are you using condoms correctly? Are you using the right kind of lube? Are the condoms old or expired? It's important to identify the problem so you can avoid an accident in the future."

The CDC additionally recommended only using latex or polyurethane condoms (no natural condoms), keeping condoms away from extreme heat, and not using oil-based lubricants or reusing condoms. These things would help keep condoms from tearing and lessen the chance for condom breakage.

Overall, it's best to be prepared as possible before, during, and after using condoms to lower your worries about a potential incident with a broken condom.

Planned Parenthood has a partner website about sexual health topics specifically for Nigeria. Would you like to go to the Nigeria website?

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By
Kendall @ Planned Parenthood
|
May 28, 2021, 11:28 p.m.

Category:

Birth Control ,
STDs and Safer Sex

Someone asked us: What should I do if a condom breaks? And what does a broken condom look like?
Condom accidents can look like a few different things. You may see a rip or tear in the condom after pulling out, or when you take it off your penis . You might not always see a big rip, but if you notice semen (cum) leaking out, the condom is probably broken. Sometimes the condom totally breaks and bunches up around the base of your penis, like a ring. And a condom can also come off inside the vagina during or after sex — if there’s no condom on your penis when you pull out, it’s the same as if the condom broke. To help avoid this, always pull out of the vagina while your penis is still hard , and hold onto the base of the condom when you pull out.
It can be stressful if your condom breaks or slips off, but luckily there’s still something you can do to prevent pregnancy: Emergency contraception (like the morning-after pill) can help prevent pregnancy AFTER unprotected sex or a condom mistake. But it’s important to act fast — you only have 5 days after unprotected sex for emergency contraception to work, and some kinds of emergency contraception work better the sooner you take them. Learn more about emergency contraception .
It’s also a good idea for you and your partner to get tested for STDs a few weeks after the condom broke. When a condom breaks, you can come into contact with sexual fluids that can spread STDs. And most of the time, STDs don’t show any symptoms. So testing is the only way to know for sure whether you have one. If you have sex, it’s a good idea to get tested regularly for STDs anyway — and after a condom breaks is a really good time for your next test.
Most of the time, condoms don’t break, and they work well to prevent pregnancy and STDs. And using condoms the right way can help keep them from breaking. But accidents happen and it’s a good idea to have a plan ready in case you make a condom mistake. Your local Planned Parenthood health center can help you get both emergency contraception and STD testing, and answer any questions you might have.

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Posted by ONE Condoms on June 18, 2021
When used consistently and correctly, condoms are up to 98% effective in protecting against unplanned pregnancy and the transmission of sexually transmitted infections (like gonorrhea, chlamydia, syphilis and HIV). One thing we know about life is that people sometimes make mistakes, accidents happen and nobody is perfect! A broken condom can be caused by a variety of factors, such as common condom use errors, condom sizes, and oil-based lubricants can all contribute.
That’s where the term “condom failure” comes in. Condom failure basically means anything that might cause the protection condoms provide to fail, like breaking, leaking or slipping off during penetrative sexual activity. Your condom fit is an important factor.
So, what should you do when you experience condom failure? We’ve got you covered with what to do if you experience condom failure! There are steps that you can take right away, and others that require a little more lead time.
Important to note is that at ONE Condoms, we take the quality of our products – and the health and safety of our customers – very seriously. When a breakage incident happens with our products, we investigate each instance.
Try not to blame yourself! Accidents happen and there are steps to take to manage risk and avoid short term or long-term consequences.
Once you notice that the condom is damaged or has slipped off, press pause on the sexual experience, and let your partner know what has happened. Try and remove any lingering fluids from your body, and use the bathroom. We know this sounds a little odd, but there’s a scientific reason!
By “flushing” out any remaining fluids, you can try and feel more comfortable and remove bacteria, including the bacteria that causes urinary tract infections (UTIs). While this will not protect against pregnancy, by sitting on the toilet and flexing your genital or anal muscles, or peeing, this is a great first step.
Our bodies are truly a biological work of art, designed to be self cleaning after sexual activity. That being said, a quick rinse or shower can help you feel more at ease.
It is not recommended to douche, though. In an interesting twist, douching products can actually irritate or inflame sensitive tissue in your body and increase the risk of infection. Bad news!
With condom failure, it can be very easy to experience a sort of spiraling sense of dread or to let your imagination conjure up various “what if” scenarios. Right about at this point, it’s a good idea to check in and just take stock of how you’re feeling, speak with your partner and confide in a close friend or family member for support.
But don’t worry, if you don’t feel comfortable, you can also speak to trained experts at Planned Parenthood or the National Coalition for Sexual Health for help.
Make Sure You're Following Proper Condom Use Instructions
There are many reasons why condoms can fail, such as:
There are a number of options for how to proceed once you have experienced condom failure. This is a good time to come up with a game plan for what course of action makes sense for you and your body.
There’s tons of great online resources to conduct some basic research! Firstly, you’ll want to consider whether or not you need emergency contraception (EC), also known as the morning after pill. The great news is: emergency contraception is now available in the United States and Canada over the counter, so you do not need to get a prescription from your doctor.
Not everyone may be at risk of an unplanned pregnancy, but you’ll also want to think about the risk of STI transmission. The only way to know if you have contracted an STI is through testing, which can be done at a doctor’s office or a clinic. Make sure you research where you can have an STI screening done in your local area, and whether or not you need an appointment. For this, it’s recommended to aim to be tested about two weeks after potential exposure.
PEP stands for post-exposure prophylaxis, which is a short course of HIV medicines taken very soon after a possible exposure to HIV to prevent the virus from taking hold in your body. You must start it within 72 hours (3 days) after a possible exposure to HIV, or it won’t work. Every hour counts! Learn more about PEP through the CDC .
Ok, so now you have a game plan! What can you do next, you wonder? Now, you are on symptom watch, monitoring any changes in your well-being, with a special focus on any areas where you fear you may have been exposed.
While many STIs do not show any symptoms (and why getting tested is so important!), you may also notice some more minor (though st
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What To Do If The Condom Breaks

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