WHAT KIND OF CONDOMS ARE THERE?!

Latex, plastic, animal tissue, and novelty condoms OH MY!!!

Latex: The most widely used kind of condom is latex. Latex condoms offer better protection against STI’s than any other birth control method. It does this by blocking the exchange of body fluids that can contain infections. Although condoms do a good job of protecting you from some infections (see side bar), it doesn’t protect you from things like genital warts and herpes, which can be passed through lesions on around the penis or vagina.

Plastic: One of the main reasons why people use plastic condoms is because there are about 10% of people who are actually allergic to latex. Plastic condoms are a pretty new product and so the effectiveness for prevention of pregnancy and STI’s is still unknown which is a good reason to stick to latex.

Animal Skin Condoms: These are not recommended for protection against sexually transmitted infections. Some viruses such as HIV and hepatitis-B may actually be able to fit through the pores of animal tissue. However they do some good in the safeguarding against pregnancy.

Novelty Condoms: Often times these are flavored or glow in the dark or have some funny slogan on them. Most of these are only set aside for jokes on your friends and fun with your significant other. You have to check the package to make sure that they provide protection against pregnancy and/or infections. Often times these DO NOT protect you!

Female Condoms: Enough about the boys, lets talk about the girls. Yep, there are condoms made for girls now! The “female condom” fits inside the vagina and covers the vulva (confused about the difference between a vagina and a vulva? Check the dictionary section.). The benefit is that the guy doesn’t have to keep a chub the entire time, but a drawback is that it isn’t as effective as a male condom. The female condom is about 84% effective in preventing pregnancy, and if used perfectly its effectiveness can be increased to 95%. Another benefit to using a female condom is that the girl no longer has to rely on the male to bring one of his own.