Condom guide

What is a condom?

Why you should use it?

How should you use it?

The choice of the right condom: different sizes

What is a condom?
The condom is a method of contraception and prevention against sexually transmitted diseases. It is made of latex, a material that is obtained with a process of vulcanization of rubber.
From a technical point of view, the condom is a thin latex hood. It is slipped on the erect penis, in order to keep the semen from entering the vagina. In this way, it eliminates the risk of unwanted pregnancies and contagion of sexually transmitted diseases.
The condom is often and wrongly considered as something that plays gooseberry, because it interrupts preliminaries. As a matter of fact, it is sufficient to consider its introduction as a malicious erotic play!
We don't want to give anyone good dressing-downs, but how many people would like to end up with a child, which is the result of an intercourse that occurred nine months before and maybe even with someone who is no longer traceable?
However, among the results of unprotected love, babies represent the smaller problem. In fact, relentless sexually transmitted viruses destroy millions of human lives throughout the world. Don't forget that hundreds of thousands of people died because of AIDS, and there are millions of HIV-positive people all over the world.
The condom is the only effective defence against HIV. We don't want to frighten people. We just know that the use of condoms is a sign of maturity and respect. However, even nowadays many people look at the condom with suspicion. It seems that both young people and adults are still in difficulty when buying condoms because of their embarrassment. This leads to the acceptance of non-protected intercourse.
The good reasons to use condoms are surely better than the excuses for not doing so. It is enough to consider that they don't need any medical prescription, they are the only way to protect oneself from a risky intercourse and they can also whet one's fantasy, thanks to several flavours and colours.
Buying a condom is very easy: you can find it in the supermarket, in vending machines and on the Internet.

Why you should use condoms
If you have never thought about using condoms this data should convince you!
It is never too late to change your point of view, and if you would like more information about condoms, and how to prevent sexually transmitted diseases, you should talk with your doctor.

HIV / AIDS Statistics

One in every 100 sexually active adults between the ages of 15 and 49 worldwide is infected with HIV, and only 1 in 10 knows they are infected.**
More than 30 million people worldwide are now living with the AIDS virus, and about 16,000 new victims are infected every day.**

Worldwide, 5.8 million people were infected with HIV in 1997 and, according to statistics, 5.3 million were infected in 1996.**

It is estimated that 2.3 million people died of AIDS in 1997 - a 50 percent increase from 1996. Nearly half of those deaths were women, and 460,000 were children under 15.**

India's 3 to 5 million HIV-infected people make it the country with the highest number of HIV-infected people in the world.**

AIDS is the main cause of death for Americans aged 25 - 44. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC, December, 1996) reported 581,429 cases and 362,004 AIDS-related deaths.

In the U.S. there is one AIDS-related death every 15 minutes, and someone is infected with HIV every 13 minutes. (CDC)

1 in 250 Americans (of all ages) is HIV infected.

1 in 92 American men aged 25-39 is HIV infected.

1 in 33 African American men aged 27-39 is HIV infected.

In New York City, 1 in every 30 adults is HIV infected. (Gay Men's Health Crisis)

About 1,250,000 Americans are HIV-infected.

The number of HIV-infected teenagers in the U.S. doubles every 14 months. (American Academy of Pediatrics)

80% of Americans infected with HIV do not even know they are infected.

The World Health Organization estimates that half of all infections worldwide occurs between the ages of 15 and 19.

By the year 2000 the estimated cumulative number of people infected with HIV around the world will be near 40,000,000.

Worlwide, women represent the fastest growing group of new HIV cases. Every day, 3000 women worldwide are infected with HIV and 500 women die from AIDS or AIDS related diseases.

If not treated, sexually transmitted diseases can cause infertility, cancer, birth defects and miscarriages, even death. Americans suffer 10 to 50 times more from sexually transmitted diseases than people in other developed countries.

Gonorrhea strikes 150 times per 100,000 Americans, vs. just three times per 100,000 people in Sweden and 18 per 100,000 in Canada.

One in four women has human papilloma virus, an infection that makes them 10 times more likely to develop cervical cancer.

There is strong evidence that sexually transmitted diseases greatly increase the risk of sexual transmission of HIV.

Statistics Sources

** UN AIDS Report, November 25, 1997
* National Center for Health Statistics, July 11, 1995
Centers for Disease Control
World Health Organization
Institute of Medicine
Kaiser Family Foundation

How to use condoms

• Open the box and take the condom out gently, taking care not to damage it with your nails or rings

• Hold the little tank at one end of the condom with your fingers (see figure beside) to let out the air which could reduce sensitivity and cause breaks

• Before starting sexual intercourse, put the rolled up condom at the top of your erect penis and unroll it slowly
• 

Soon after the intercourse, extract your erect penis by holding the edge of the condom with two fingers
In case of a new intercourse, wash your penis carefully (use our hygienic serviettes) and use another condom

ATTENTION !!

• use a new condom for each intercourse or in case you change partner during the same sexual act
• wash your penis before wearing a new condom for a new intercourse
• avoid contact with the condom if you have injuries on your hands to reduce the possibility of infection
• use the condom immediately after opening the sealed pack
• don't use the condom if the material is hard, sticky or visibly damaged
• unroll the condom on your penis (an unrolled condom cannot be used again)
• if any supplementary lubrication is desired, use watery lubricants (e.g. glycerine); avoid using oily lubricants (e.g. vaseline, paraffin, children's oils or others), because they can damage the condom
• consult a physician about the compatibility of the condom with any topical products to be put on the penis or inside the vagina
• keep the condom sealed inside the box far from light or heat, in a fresh and dry place
• don't keep the condom inside your wallet to avoid risks of adhesion and breaks
• throw the condom away in a hygienic condition and in the dustbin, but not inside the water closet since it is not biodegradable
  
  The use of condoms can cause allergic dermatitis because of contact with the gland, the prepuce and the vulva, as well as vaginitis caused by the rubber and the lubricant of the condom.
  Almost all condoms are made of latex and are not to be used by people who are allergic to this material.

Although no contraceptive can guarantee 100 % safety, a condom, when used correctly, can prevent pregnancy and sexual diseases.

Sexual diseases can also be transmitted during intimate contacts through body fluids or lesions, therefore the condom must be worn before any contact.

Using a condom outside the vaginal intercourse can increase the risk of damaging it or slipping it off.

In case of a break, sperm can come into contact with the partner. If the condom is used to prevent pregnancy, it is advisable to ask for information at a health centre within 72 hours.

Let's talk about dimensions
The choice of the right condom: size. For the correct use of a condom, everyone should choose the most suited to their own needs. Condoms are not all the same, not even in size. Every model has its own length, width and thickness and these parametres are essential in the choice of the product to buy, as they have to be suited to the size of the penis.
Let's think about when we buy a set of clothes. As well as following the present fashion, we care about the model and the size which must fit and also the fact that they must be confortable when we wear them.
The same thing is true for a condom, which must become like a second skin. A small condom is unconfortable. A large one can be dangerous because it can slip out during the intercorse and provoke an spillage of sperm. Unfortunately, there is still a lot of embarassement about this subject. Surely, buying a condom is not like buying a sweater. Asking the chemist for information can sometimes be difficult. Not to mention the supermarket cash girl.

So what should we do?
Let's look at the chart below carefully and let us pay special attention to where we have reported the data relating to some of our items. We intend to complete the information as soon as the companies will supply them. We also remind you that this data is related to average values, since the raw material with which condoms are made, i.e. latex, is an elastic material, which is very ductile and susceptile of change caused by external agents.
Besides, condom sizes are subject to a precise European law, the EN600, which indicates values relating to length, width and thickness.
Manufacturing companies cannot go under these values.

Circcumference in millimeter
_	XL	XL	L	M	S	S
A	120	130	120	104	98	98
B	108	108	104	_	88	_
C	_	_	_	_	98	_

Download penis measuring kit

Find the condom that fits you better!

It's not a question of size
The dimensions of a penis and, therefore, of a condom, have always been, for a man, a "peculiar" matter to face. However, there is a legend to discredit, which is the fact that big dimensions are essential for a satisfactory sexual life.The sexual problem with most men is the excessive identification in their penis, and all of the instruments, the tricks and solutions which should increase the efficency of the penis end buy only increasing the problem.
Confining one's own emotional and sexual energy to the dimensions of the penis can lead to different forms of impotence (caused by anxiety, performance, precocious ejaculation ) as well as to the creation of an estrangement in the couple, since women live both their sexuality and emotional life with richer and more complex needs.
A woman, differently to a man, appreciates what is natural and spontaneous in her search for true feelings, particulartly in the sexual field. Therefore she looks with suspicion at everything that is artificial, and consequently takes her distance. It is quite uncommon that a woman will make the small dimensions of a penis become a problem, whereas more and more men look for false solutions to solve their weakness. People often smoulder a strong aggressiveness which hides an enormous weakness. By giving so much importance to dimensions, men hide the need to cover behind an instrument which has for ages been the symbol of his own power and manliness, and a way to avoid the meeting completely with a woman.
Here is the way to measure one's penis correctly: it must be erect and parallel to the floor. To measure length, you can use a common ruler, putting it from the base (pubic bone), to the top.

Table of the sizes of the erected penis (From: Kinsey Institute, USA)