How To Make Sex Safer

You can reduce getting any Sexually Transmitted Disease (STD) through sexual or anal intercourse by using a barrier like a condom. Condom use makes it more difficult for blood or sexual fluid to get into your body.

There are also one-size-fits-all female condoms that protect the vagina or rectum during intercourse. They look like regular condoms made of polyurethane, but are designed to fit inside the vagina and are typically pre-lubricated.

Oral sex has a lower risk of transmitting STDs, but it’s still possible if body fluids get into your mouth, especially if you have bleeding gums or sores. Most any STD can spread from the genital area to the mouth and vice versa.

According to the Palo Alto Medical Foundation, though your risk of contracting an infection through oral sex is lower than through vaginal or anal sex, it still exists.

You can get a bacterial infection of chlamydia, syphilis or gonorrhea in your mouth and/or throat and could develop genital warts in the mouth.

Herpes is commonly passed between the genitals and the mouth, and HIV can be passed through cuts in the mouth or small abrasions.

Pieces of latex or plastic wrap over the vagina or condoms over the penis can be used as barriers during oral sex. For more on using protection during oral sex, there’s great advice on the Palo Alto website.