Safer sex
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  • Open the packet carefully to avoid damaging the condom (jewellery, long fingernails or careless teeth could tear it). The condom comes out rolled up, forming a ring which will fit over the penis.
  • Put the condom on after the penis is hard and before any kind of penetration begins.
  • Check the condom is the right way up; you can test with a finger that it rolls out and down.
  • Keep the penis completely free of grease and lubricant for best `holding power'.
  • Squeeze the closed end between the thumb and forefinger to expel the air. Air bubbles can make condoms break.
  • Hold the condom over the tip of the penis and with the other hand carefully unroll it down to the base. It may help to stretch the condom width-ways in order to ease it down the penis and to ensure that it remains in place once intercourse begins. But be careful not to pierce the condom with your fingernails when doing this.
  • If you have a foreskin, pull it back before covering the head of the penis with the condom. Don't try to cover the scrotum with a condom.
  • Smooth the condom to eliminate any air bubbles.
  • Some men withdraw to check the condom, occasionally. If you need more lubrication (and you should use plenty), use more water-based lubricant.
  • Never use two condoms at once. This move is likely to lead to breakage because of rubber rubbing against rubber.
  • If you lose your erection the condom may slip. This is the biggest single cause of condom failure. Fingers held round the base of the condom will help it stay put.
  • If the condom does break or slip off, withdraw as soon as you find out! Obviously you will need to use a new one if this happens.
  • A condom is more likely to break if sex lasts a long time, (longer than 45 minutes). Consider changing the condom during a long sex session.
  • After coming (ejaculation), withdraw the penis before it becomes soft (otherwise semen could leak out of the condom). To prevent the condom slipping off your penis at this stage, hold it firmly round the base as you withdraw.
  • Throw used condoms away. Dispose of them thoughtfully, e.g. wrapped up in tissue paper and then thrown in the rubbish. They shouldn't be flushed down the loo, since this may cause blockages in sewage disposal, according to water companies.
  • Never use a condom more than once.
  • Never use the same condom on two people in succession.