Safe Sex

Know for safe sex

Safe sex is way of lowering your chances of catching a sexually transmitted disease. This class of diseases, called STDs for short, includes any infection spread during sex. STDs include gonorrhea, syphilis, HIV (the AIDS virus), Chlamydia, trichomoniasis, herpes, pubic lice, and genital warts. Many sexually transmitted diseases can be cured with a week or two of treatment. If not treated, however, some of these diseases can cause infertility. Others eventually can be fatal. You can't tell by looking whether someone has an STD, and many people don't know they are infected. Practicing safe sex keeps you and your partner from sharing body fluids, such as vaginal fluids and semen. These fluids typically carry STDs. Safe sex does not guarantee that you'll avoid infection. The only 100-percent certain way to protect yourself is to never have sex or to sleep with only one person who is completely faithful to you. However, if you do have sex with more than one person, having safe sex EVERY TIME will improve your odds of remaining infection-free.

DO

• Limit your activity to things that do not involve exchange of body fluids. For example, safe sex includes:
• Hugging and body-to-body rubbing
• Masturbation alone or with someone else
• Massage
• Dry kissing
• Sex with the use of a condom
• Avoid activities that will result in an exchange of body fluids. The following things are NOT safe:
• Mouth-to-mouth kissing (French kissing)
• Sharing sex toys
• Using saliva as a lubricant
• Sex without the use of a condom