North Yorkshire AIDS Action

safer sex      

People usually become infected with HIV through unprotected anal or vaginal sex (i.e. without a condom), by sharing needles and syringes (or any other activity which causes blood to enter another person's body)

Safer Sex

If you decide to have sex it’s best to play it safe and practice safer sex. That way you can enjoy sex with less worry about getting HIV, a Sexually Transmitted Infection (STI) or pregnant.

In the age of HIV, everyone should know about safer sex. HIV can infect anyone, regardless of sexual orientation, sex, age, race or economic class. Only you can decide what kind of sex is right for you and what risks you will take.

 

Condoms

If like most people you want to keep on having penetrative sex, either anal or vaginal, then learning to use condoms properly, and using them consistently, is the major step in adopting safer sex. Condoms help to protect against STIs, HIV and against unintended pregnancy. They’re available in all sorts of colours, shapes, flavours, textures and sizes


The Female Condom

• Fits inside the vagina
• Protects against pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections (including HIV)
• Is made from thin polyurethane, and lubricated with a spermicidal free lubricant
• Can be put in any time before sex
• Isn’t known to cause any allergic reactions
• Is preferred by some women as they feel it gives them more control

Is preferred by some men because it feels good and they don’t like the male condom

If you obtain your female condoms from a Family Planning Clinic, staff at the clinic can show you how to fit and use the female condom properly. Simply, the female condom lines the vagina. It has two rings to keep it in place. The ring at the closed end of the condom fits inside the vagina. The one at the open end stays outside

Condoms are free to anyone, you can get regular supplies of free condoms from:

• Family Planning Clinics
• Brook Advisory Centre
• Sexual Health/GUM clinics
• Young Person’s Clinics if under 25
• Gay pubs & clubs
• North Yorkshire AIDS Action

You can also buy condoms from:

• Supermarkets
• Pharmacists & Drug stores
• Petrol stations
• Record shops
• Vending machines in men’s & women’s toilets
• Mail-order catalogues

Condom tips

• Always choose a condom that has a quality mark like the British Standards Institute (BSI) Kitemark or the European CE mark.
• Use a water-based lubricant (i.e. KY jelly, Boots lubricating jelly or Sensel) and not an oil-based one (i.e. Vaseline, baby oil, margarine or massage oil) as these can damage the condom and make it unsafe
• Use a new condom every time you have sex, and never re-use a condom
• Never use two condoms together, as this is more likely to lead to breakage
• Condoms do expire, so make sure you check the expiry date on the outer packet
• For anal sex try to use a stronger condom and plenty of water-based lubricant to help prevent the condom tearing
• For oral sex using a condom can help protect against many sexually transmitted infections including HIV

Oral sex is usually considered to be low risk although this can be increased where the active partner has bleeding gums, mouth ulcers or other mouth or throat infections such as thrush. Some people may find it preferable to use condoms when giving a male partner oral sex - there are flavoured condoms available for this purpose - or, if this is not possible, do not allow your partner to ejaculate in your mouth. If your partner does ejaculate it may be better to spit than swallow although it is thought that stomach acid will destroy the virus. Research has also shown that an enzyme in saliva prevents HIV replicating itself - HIV in saliva has been found to be damaged and has proven to be very difficult to isolate. Transmission through oral sex to an HIV positive woman carries a theoretical risk only as there are no definite, proven cases of transmission through this route. Transmission from the person giving oral sex to the person receiving it is highly improbable because HIV does not have an adequate route to enter the body through external genitalia, nor is there likely to be a sufficient quantity, or quality, of HIV in the mouth of the person giving the oral sex. The risk of infection from kissing on the lips is almost zero because there is an insufficient quantity of virus in saliva to make transmission possible. 

If you already are HIV+ then it is best if all guidelines for safer sex are still followed because you may be infected by a different strain of the virus. Infection with a different, additional strain could damage your immune system still further or it may be a drug-resistant strain that could limit your treatment options.

...and drug use

Find out more about needle exchange schemes from... 

Compass Drugs Resource Scheme

15 Bridge Street, York, North Yorkshire YO1 1DA

Tel: 01904 647474
Fax: 01904 632192

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