Condoms and Sexually Transmitted Diseases

The highest risk comes from having intercourse -- vaginal, anal or oral -- with a person who has a sexually transmitted disease. If you have sex with an infected person, you're taking a big chance. If you know you're partner is infected, the best rule is to avoid intercourse (including oral sex). If you do decide to have sex with an infected partner, you should always be sure a condom is used, from start to finish, every time.

And it's risky to have sex with someone who has shared needles with an infected person. It's also risky to have sex with someone who had sex with an infected person in the past. If your partner had intercourse with a person infected with HIV (the AIDS virus) he or she could pass it on to you. That can happen even if the intercourse was a long time ago and even if your partner seems perfectly healthy.

With sexually transmitted diseases, you often can't tell whether your partner has been infected. If you're not sure about yourself or your partner, you should choose to not have sex at all. But if you do have sex, be sure to use a condom that covers the entire penis to reduce the risk of being infected. This includes oral sex where the penis is in contact with the mouth.

If you think you and your partner should be using condoms but your partner refuses, then you should say no to sex with that person.

Each year, Medical College of Wisconsin physicians care for more than 180,000 patients, representing nearly 500,000 patient visits. Medical College physicians practice at Children's Hospital of Wisconsin, Froedtert Memorial Lutheran Hospital, the Milwaukee VA Medical Center, and many other hospitals and clinics in Milwaukee and southeastern Wisconsin.