National Condom Week is usually celebrated the same week as Valentine’s Day in the United States. It is observed to consistently remind people about the importance of safer sex and preventing sexually transmitted infections (STIs). Although sex is never 100% safe, using condoms and adopting some preventive precautions lower the risk of you and your partner being afflicted by infections like HIV. It is easier to prevent a sexually transmitted disease than to treat one.

Limit your vulnerability to infections caused due to sex with the help of given tactics:

• Always use a condom (male or female). It is most essential aspect of safe sex and the best way to protect yourself from STIs.
• The safest sex is with one partner who engages in sex only with you. With another partner, you are exposed to all the diseases all his/her partners may have.
• Ask your potential partner about his/her sexual history. You will want to know how many partners has the person engaged in sex with and if he/she has ever suffered an STI, including Hepatitis B, Hepatitis C, or human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). You’d also need to know whether the sexually transmitted disease was cured or not. If the person is positive to any incurable STI, you’ll need to decide whether to have sex and how best to protect yourself from being affected.
• Ask your potential partner about high-risk behaviours that increase his/her risk for a blood disease transmitted through sexual contact. These include intravenous drug use, anal sex, sex with a prostitute, sex with a partner who has high-risk behaviour or exchange of sex for money or drugs.
• Ask your prospective partner to be tested for HIV and other STIs. Use condoms for all sexual engagements until you and your partner have not had sex with another person for 6 months. After 6 months, get tested again before you decide to forgo condoms.
• Use latex and polyurethane condoms as they protect against the viruses that cause STIs, unlike animal skin condoms.
• Use a water-based lubricant such as K-Y Jelly or Astroglide to help prevent tearing of skin if there is lack of lubrication during sexual intercourse. Small tears in the vagina during vaginal sex or in the rectum during anal sex allow STIs to infiltrate your blood.
• Delay engaging in sexual activity until you’re physically and emotionally prepared for it.