Practice Safer Sex
Safer sex means protecting yourself and your partner(s) from sexually transmitted diseases. Safer sex helps you stay healthy and can even make sex better. There are a lot of ways you and your partner(s) can make sex safer.
It’s not what you do. It’s how you do it.
Things you can do to stay safe:
Abstain
The most reliable way to avoid infection is to not have sex (anal, vaginal or oral).
Condoms
Use barriers like condoms and dams the correct way, every time you have sex. Watch instruction video here
Limit number of partners
Reducing the number of sex partners can decrease your risk for STDs.
Get tested. Get treated.
Make STD and HIV testing part of your routine health care. Learn more.
Mutual monogamy
Agree with your partner to only be sexually active with each other.
PrEP
Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP) is one pill, once a day and lowers your chances of contracting HIV up to 99%. Learn more .
HIV Treatment as Prevention
A person living with HIV who is on HIV medications (ART) and has an undetectable viral load for 6 months cannot transmit HIV sexually to their partner. Learn more .
Vaccination
Vaccines are safe, effective, and recommended ways to prevent HPV , hepatitis B , and hepatitis A
Updated April 11, 2023, 5:03 PM
