Male condoms are a form of contraceptive and they are worn for different reasons:
- To avoid getting pregnant.
- To avoid getting sexually transmitted infections (HIV, etc).
To make sure that a condom is effective and playing the role it is being used for, it is important to wear and use it the right way.
The male condom is used commonly by many people, but many of those who use it do not use it properly.
These are the steps to follow in wearing a male condom:
- Check for the expiry date to make sure it has not expired.
- Before you open the packet, push the condom down so that it won’t be in the way when you tear the packet open.
- Don’t tear it open with any sharp objects (like your teeth, blades, scissors, etc). Tear it open with your hands, starting from the corner of the packet that has a jagged edge or arrow. The arrow or jagged edge is there to make opening the packet with your hands easy.
- When you open it with your hands, do so carefully. This is to prevent your nails from tearing the condom.
- Remove the condom from the packet.
- Then pinch the tip of the condom. This prevents air from being trapped in there when the condom is put on. Air trapped in the male condom can cause friction that will make it break.
- The condom should be worn on a hard, erect penis.
- Place the condom on the tip of the penis and roll it on. Roll the entire condom onto the penis.
- If you are uncircumcised, before rolling the condom down, pull the foreskin back.
- Be sure to leave a space at the tip of the condom when you roll it on. This space is for the semen when the man ejaculates.
- After ejaculation, hold the base of the condom to prevent the semen from spilling.
- Then carefully withdraw from the vagina.
- Remove the condom by pulling it down with your fingers at the base of the male condom. Don’t roll it down to avoid spilling the semen. And don’t remove it when you are still close to your partner’s vagina so it won’t spill in and cause pregnancy.
- After removing it, tie a knot at the end of the condom.
- Discard of the condom properly by wrapping it (with toilet paper) and throwing it away in a waste bin. Don’t throw it into a toilet – it will block the toilet!
Wearing and using the condom the right way reduces the risk of it failing and resulting in unwanted pregnancy.
