It is believed to be safe to have sex with a single partner who is the only person you have sex with when neither of you is infected with Sexually Transmitted Infections (STIs).
However, a lot of experts hold the view that safe sex does not exist. They hold the belief that since all types of sexual contact include some risk, the only way to be completely safe is to abstain from having sex.
The risk of getting STI can be decreased through safer sexual practices. Healthy communication and mutual consent between couples can be facilitated by discussing STIs, sexual history, and safer sex.
Keep on reading to learn more about safe sexual practices and their significance in keeping personal health safe.
Why Is Practicing Safe Sex Important For Personal Health?
Safer sex can be thrilling, enjoyable, and fun. It might make your sex more relaxing and pleasant by reducing your concern about contracting or spreading sexually transmitted infections or diseases (STIs or STDs).
Some health issues can be transmitted from one person to another through intercourse and may worsen if left untreated.
Sexual activities that lower the risk of spreading STIs, such as HIV, are considered safer. It entails taking specific measures to stop people from sharing bodily fluids, which can spread STIs.
Deciding to engage in safer sex indicates your concern for both your enjoyment and the health of your potential partners.
To take part in safer sex, it is important to understand which bodily fluids might transmit STDs, which sexual acts are harmful to different people, and how to reduce the risk of a particular activity.
Blood, vaginal secretions, semen (cum and pre-cum), and anal fluids are among the bodily fluids that can spread STIs. This includes menstrual blood also.
Certain STIs, including syphilis and genital warts, can be transmitted through sex if your partner has a sore or rash in the body.
Congenital syphilis and HIV are two STIs that can spread from mother to fetus during pregnancy and delivery, putting unborn children in danger as well.
STIs which include pelvic inflammatory disease (PID) and infertility in both men and women, can result in severe conditions and long-term effects on your health if they are not treated.
Besides the STIs or STDs, safe sex is much more important if you are not planning for pregnancy. Unsafe sex may lead to an unplanned pregnancy.
Now let’s explore some of the sex practices that might help you to avoid STIs and enjoy safe sex with much pleasure. Here are the five safe sex practices that you need to know.
5 Safe Sex Practices
- Non-Penetrative Sex
Non-penetrative sex is defined as sexual activity in which the participants do not penetrate any bodily organs, such as the anus, mouth, or vagina.
As a result, it cannot perform sexual penetration. Instead, other types of sexual and asexual acts such as kissing, cuddling, and mutual masturbation, are practiced.
This type of safe sex practice is also referred to as the outer course, which may involve elements of penetration but not in a literal sense like fingering.
The majority of people engage in non-penetrative sexual activity for a variety of reasons, including performing foreplay or primary sexual activities that raise pleasure levels.
Additionally, some couples participate in non-penetrative sex as a preventive step for birth control and to preserve their virginity.
Those who came out as gay also use it to preserve their virginity, and they use it to replace anal intercourse.
Depending on the needs and desires of the individual, there are many reasons why non-penetrative sexual practices may be carried out. It is also an easy and responsible technique to prevent pregnancy.
- Using Barriers
Sexual barriers such as condoms, medical gloves, and dental dams can stop sexual intercourse from contacting bodily fluids like vaginal fluid, blood, semen, and rectal mucus as well as other ways to spread STIs like sharing items, skin, and hair.
Oral sex is not a risk-free sexual activity, due to the fact that a person comes into touch with another person’s bodily fluids.
Using a barrier such as condoms between the mouth and the genitals, one can lessen the risk of getting an STI during oral intercourse.
Additionally, people can utilize dental dams for vaginas and external condoms for penises.
Vaginal sex typically involves more contact with biological fluids compared to oral sex.
People can use a variety of contraceptive methods, including implants, hormonal birth control pills, and intrauterine devices, to lessen their chance of becoming pregnant. However, these techniques are not going to provide STI prevention.
Using barriers is the only means of prevention against STIs. People can use internal condoms, which go inside the vagina, or external condoms, which cover the penis, for penetrative sex.
Anal sex is regarded as a higher-risk sexual behavior by health professionals since it entails more risk.
Tiny splits in the area increase the possibility of transmission because the anus does not self-lubricate. Infections could be transferred by bacteria in the anus.
The penetrative partner needs to use a condom to lessen the possibility of transmission. The chances of microtears that can transfer infections can be decreased by using a condom-friendly lubricant.
- Cleanliness And Hygiene Before And After Sex
Maintaining cleanliness and hygiene before and after sex is essential for your safety and the safety of your partner.
It’s important to have extreme caution when it comes to cleanliness before and after sex. Just because of the fact that the couples are going to have sex, they get highly aroused and end up not focusing on basic cleanliness.
Couples frequently disregard hygiene rules like washing their hands before and after intercourse, taking showers, etc., which is a major problem to take care of.
Before engaging in intercourse, it’s better to thoroughly wash your hands. This is because you definitely don’t want any bacteria or germs to enter your partner’s mouth as they could cause them problems or an infection.
Cleansing private parts properly is yet another important hygiene practice everyone needs to do before and after intercourse to have safe sex.
There is no need for you to spend hours cleaning everything up. Simply set aside a few minutes, use a mild body wash, and thoroughly wash the private area before and after engaging in sexual activity.
Urinating immediately after having sexual intercourse is important. One of the most frequent mistakes that most people make is not urinating after sex.
It is necessary to urinate oneself if you have engaged in any kind of sexual activity with or without protection.
Urinating after sex helps in eliminating the infectious bacteria present in your private parts. It could result in a serious infection if you don’t urinate.
After sexual intercourse, drinking a glass of water has several advantages since it keeps the body well-hydrated. Energy levels might easily drop after sex and drinking water could increase it.
- Limit Sexual Partners
Having several sexual partners refers to engaging in multiple sexual relationships at once or over time. This could imply having a sexual partner at first, then another, or having multiple partners at once.
The chance of getting HPV can rise if someone engages in unprotected intercourse with several persons in a short period. STIs are more frequently caused by HPV.
This is because many HPV-positive individuals never exhibit any symptoms but can still spread infection through intercourse.
Health professionals suggest using a condom every time a person engages in sexual activity.
- Have Fun On Your Own
Since STIs are transmitted from person to person by microbes, they cannot be contracted when a person is alone.
Individual masturbation, using sex toys, and phone sex are examples of solo sexual practices that you can enjoy safely.
Masturbation is more secure than any other form of sex. It cannot cause pregnancy or other sexually transmitted diseases.
Phone sex is also a better option for a person looking for safe sexual practices. The only thing to be aware of is the spam existing in the cyber world.
One can experience sexual pleasure by using a sex toy if he/ she needs it to be safe.
It’s better to clean the toy after every use since there is a chance of bacteria growing in it. Using it properly with proper hygiene and cleanliness makes your sexual intercourse safe and delightful.
Guidance On Safe Sex Practices For Various Sexual Orientations And Gender Identities
Safe sex practices are something that should be handled with utmost care since they cause serious health issues.
It is thought to be safe to have sex with a single partner who had intercourse only with you if neither of you has an STI. But, is it right? Absolutely not, it’s not the number of partners you have or you had sex with, it’s the matter of precautions, hygiene, and cleanliness you keep during intercourse.
Communicating with a partner openly about the history of STIs, and drug use is also a part of having safe sex. Using appropriate barriers and non-penetrative sex is the most effective method of safe sexual practice.
Let your partner use a condom (male or female) during oral sex to help protect your mouth.
Go for male condoms consisting of latex or polyurethane rather than natural material.
Polyurethane is used to make female condoms. You can choose which to prefer but don’t engage in sex without having it.
Avoid drinking alcohol or using drugs because doing so increases the possibility of engaging in high-risk sex.
Women shouldn’t douche after sexual activity since it offers no STI protection. It might wash away the spermicidal defense and transfer an infection further into the reproductive system.
For all sexual orientations and gender identities, having sex that isn’t anal, oral, or vaginal is far better.
These are methods that don’t entail touching mucosal membranes or exchanging bodily fluids.
Final Thoughts
Safe sexual intercourse is one in which neither party comes into contact with other bodily fluids.
Additionally, it entails avoiding touching any potentially contagious bodily regions of your partner.
The major issue of having unsafe sex is STIs or STDs. Avoiding the contagious bodily regions of each other lowers the chance of contracting an STI.
It’s not safe to have intercourse while withdrawing your penis because fluid may leak before you ejaculate.
The safe sexual practice also involves choosing the appropriate form of contraception for your needs if you don’t want to get pregnant.
The optimal method of contraception for a person can be determined with the advice of a physician.
Making sure that sexual activity always occurs with the permission of both partners and that you feel valued and unpressurized are the key components of safe sex.
FAQ
- What is the effective approach to having safe sex?
The best technique to have safer sex is supposed to be non-penetrative sex. Abstinence can also be considered one of the effective methods since it keeps one away from sexual intercourse.
- What is an unsafe sexual practice?
An unsafe sexual practice points to risky sexual behaviors such as anal or vaginal sex without a condom. An unhygienic approach to partners for sex is another way of unsafe sexual practice.
- How to stop unsafe sexual practices?
Unsafe sexual practices can only be prevented through communication between the partners. They together need to take care of all the precautions to have safe intercourse.
- What are the major health risks of unsafe sexual practices?
Unsafe sexual practices can lead to several issues such as HIV infection, sexually transmitted infections or diseases (STIs or STDs), and unwanted pregnancy.
- Do all STIs only spread during unsafe sexual intercourse?
No. STIs including gonorrhea, chlamydia, and HIV, are spread via the transmission of semen while STDs such as hepatitis B, are spread by blood. Skin-to-skin contact (genital) is a common method of transmission for HPV, syphilis, and genital herpes.