Many don't use condoms correctly

Filed in archive Treatment on July 26, 2005

Condom errors are more common than you think:

The survey showed that nearly one in four of the participants reported errors in condom use in the past month.

More women reported errors such as not leaving a space at the tip of the condom or not removing air from the tip of the condom. Men were more likely to report condom misuse such as putting a condom on inside out and then flipping it over to have sex or experienced a condom breaking in the last month.

Men who experienced a condom breaking in the last 30 days were nearly twice as likely to be infected with gonorrhea as those who didn't.

Other errors in condom use shown by the study include:

* Not holding the base of the condom during withdrawal
* Unrolling the condom before putting it on
* Started having sex, then put on the condom during intercourse
* Reused a condom

All of these condom errors reduce the effectiveness of condoms in protecting against STD infection and unintentional pregnancy.

(Warner, "Condom Errors Common, Raise STD Risks", WebMD, Jul.25)