History Types Comebacks Quiz Putting One On
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  Condom Comebacks  

Here are some things to say when your partner doesn’t want to wear a condom. It doesn’t matter how you say it -- just decide to wear a condom each and every time.
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“You worried about catching something?”   guys
  1. Yeah, but using condoms helps take away that worry.
  2. It’s not that, I always use condoms.
  3. Aren’t you?
“It doesn’t feel good.”
  1. I’ve got moves nothing can stop!
  2. The safer I feel, the wilder I get!
  3. I’ve got a variety of condoms, let’s experiment!
  “Just this once”  
 
  1. Once could change our lives forever.
  2. I’ve got lots of condoms. I was hoping for more than once!
  3. Isn’t that a song?
  
  “They don’t fit”  
 
  1. Safety’s the best fit for me.
  2. If it’s too big for the condom, it’s too big for me.
  3. Duh…it stretches.
  
  “It ruins the mood.”  
 
  1. Come here, I’ll change your mood!
  2. Maybe we’re just not ready for this.
  3. Don’t we create the mood?
  4. I respect my body and my health. I wear a condom every time I have sex. Don’t you?
  
     
  Condom Effectiveness  
 

condomsSo, how effective are condoms for avoiding pregnancy?
Of 100 women whose partners use condoms, about 15 will become pregnant during the first year of typical use.* Only two women will become pregnant with perfect use.** More protection against pregnancy is possible if condoms are used with a spermicide foam, cream, jelly, suppository, or film. Using the spermicide nonoxynol-9 many times a day, by people at risk for HIV, or for anal sex, may irritate tissue and increase the risk of HIV and other sexually transmitted infections. They also protect both partners during vaginal and anal sex from sexually transmitted infection. Latex condoms offer very good protection against HIV.
* Typical use refers to failure rates when use is not consistent or always correct.
** Perfect use refers to failure rates for those whose use is consistent and always correct.

What about for protecting against HIV and other STDs?
In a 1987–91 study of couples in which one partner had HIV, all 123 couples who used condoms every time for four years prevented transmission of HIV. In 122 couples who did not use condoms every time, 12 partners became infected.(1) A similar 1993 study showed that using condoms every time prevented HIV transmission for all but two of 171 women who had male partners with HIV. However eight out of 10 women whose partners didn't use condoms every time became infected.(2) And condoms reduce the risk of other sexually transmitted infections, including gonorrhea, syphilis, chlamydia, chancroid, trichomoniasis, HPV, herpes, and pelvic inflammatory disease (PID). Condoms can also protect against vaginitis caused by trichomoniasis or changes in the pH balance of the vagina that can be triggered by semen.

1 Alberto Saracco, et al, "Man-To-Woman Transmission of HIV: Longitudinal Study of 343 Steady Partners of Infected Men," Journal of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndromes, Raven Press. Ltd., New York: 1993, 6, pp. 497-502.
2 Isabelle De Vincenzi, "Heterosexual Transmission of HIV in European Cohort of Couples," European Centre for the Epidemiological Monitoring of AIDS, Paris, France: 1993. Reported in the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 42(30), August 6, 1993.

  
     
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  © 2007 San Francisco Department of Public Health, HIV Prevention Section
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