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Condoms and other barriers (such as gloves and dams) allow people to explore their sexuality more safely. If you’ve decided to be sexual with someone else, then choosing the right barriers for your sexual play makes sense. Barriers don’t make you have sex—your choices do that. Barriers simply help you to protect your health if you pursue sexual activities with other people.
Barriers help prevent infections. Common infections include curable ones like Chlamydia (clah-MID-de-yah) and Gonorrhea (gahn-oh-REE-yah), as well as incurable ones like Herpes and HPV (Human Papillomavirus). Using barriers consistently and correctly reduces transmission of these infections. Barriers allow you to feel everything, but prevent direct skin-to-skin contact with secretions that harbor infectious agents.
Worrying about whether you should have used a barrier can ruin an otherwise excellent sexual experience. Increase your sexual pleasure by protecting yourself from the start.