:smack: D’oh, here we’re trying to educate and I forget to explain what the “failure rate” means. elfbabe caught it. Yeah, if the contraceptive is 98% effective, it means that if 100 women use it (properly) for one year, then two of them will get pregnant.
Condoms AND foam, used together, are about as effective as the pill.
Now here’s something scary. I don’t know if I can find it, but when my mom worked in a clinic, she was shocked by a study of university students that showed a ridiculous number of university students did NOT KNOW that the pill protects you from unwanted pregancies, but not STDs.
Hm… I’ll go Googling. I can’t remember the numbers, but I remember my mom being postively aghast by the figures.
Do a lot of people use these dams? I don’t think I’ve ever seen one, and only know about them from high school and college sex ed. But I’ve never heard of anyone actually using one. Do a lot of y’all use them?
Ok, I’ll admit I’ve never used dams or cut up condoms when receiving oral sex. However I did ask everyone about whether they’d ever had a cold sore. Anyone answered yes, that particular activity was off the menu.
AFAIK they’re mostly supposed to stop transmission of HIV, herpes virues and syphilis, as most other STDs confine themselves to the GU tract. You can get oral gonnorrhoea, but it’s more likely to be from fellatio than from cunnilingus.
There are enough people walking around with HSV1 on their genitals or HSV2 on their faces to tell you that any kind of oral/genital contact with an active herpes sore ANYWHERE is a bad idea.
Just wanted to clarify… you CAN get herpes while using a condom. Herpes are not confined to the GU tract. Sores can be found on the perineum and anus. You can also catch herpes while your partner is NOT having an outbreak, as herpes carriers often “shed” while being asymptomatic.
My college, too. It’s just that this is the only place I’ve ever come across dental dams (an education setting), and everybody I’ve asked in college was relatively good with using condoms, but not a single person used the dam. Just because they’re being given away doesn’t mean they’re being used.
Always, always ALWAYS use a condom when sleeping with someone for the first time. The only times I’ve gone without a condom are in my two very long term relationships. One girl I was with for 5 years, the other is my wife. The first girl, we were both virgins, so we didn’t have to worry about STDs…we were monogomous, and we stopped using condoms after she’d been on the pill for 2 months. Basically same thing with my wife. We were both medically cleared of STDs, and she was on the pill before we stopped condom usage. If the woman is very very good about taking the pill, there’s practically no chance of pregnancy. If, however, she misses a pill…it’s a good idea to use condoms again the rest of her cycle.
That said, in both of those cases, I was/am ready to support a child if the BC failed. Now, of course, it wouldn’t be a problem if the BC failed…just a bit unexpected.
The first time overall is not going to be that good anyway, most likely, so don’t worry about the condom ‘ruining the feeling.’
Yes, there is a chance to catch STDs from unprotected oral sex (although less than catching it from penetration). If you want to have unprotected oral sex, make sure both of you have been tested for STDs and are both clear. Then, it’s up to you whether or not you want to take the risk.
