Do condoms protect against all STIs?

What condoms protect against

Chlamydia, gonorrhoea and HIV are passed mainly in semen, vaginal fluid and blood. A condom that’s on before any contact and stays intact keeps those fluids apart, so it lowers the risk of all three.

Where they protect less

Herpes, genital warts, syphilis and mpox can pass through skin-to-skin contact with areas a condom doesn’t cover, such as the base of the penis, the scrotum, the vulva or around the anus. Condoms still help, but they can’t remove the risk. The guidelines note that most HPV infections, the cause of warts, have no visible signs, and that most people with herpes don’t know they have it.

Avoiding sex when either of you has a sore, blister or rash, and seeing a clinic about it, helps. So does the HPV vaccine.

Using them so they work

• Put it on before any genital contact, not just before ejaculation.
• Check the date and that the wrapper isn’t damaged.
• Use water- or silicone-based lubricant. Oil-based lubricants, like massage oil or petroleum jelly, make latex condoms more likely to break.
• Use a new condom each time, and when moving between anal and vaginal sex.
• Use one at a time. Two condoms, or an external and an internal condom together, rub and are more likely to break.
• Use non-latex condoms if either of you is allergic to latex.

Internal condoms, worn inside the vagina or anus, are another option and are made from non-latex materials.

Oral sex

Gonorrhoea, chlamydia, syphilis and herpes can all pass through oral sex. A condom on a penis, or a dental dam (a thin square of latex) over a vagina or anus, lowers the risk. See oral sex and STIs.

Other contraception doesn’t protect against STIs

The pill, an IUD, an implant and other contraception prevent pregnancy, but do nothing about STIs. If you use one of those instead of condoms, regular testing is what keeps STIs in check.

Condoms and testing go together

Condoms lower the risk, and testing finds what gets through. The guidelines recommend both, with PrEP for people at higher risk of HIV. See how often to get STI testing, and testing with a new partner if you’re planning to stop using condoms.

How at-home testing works with Prickly

Prickly is an Australian at-home STI testing service for people without symptoms. It tests for chlamydia, gonorrhoea and HIV, and a doctor confirms testing suits you before anything is sent.

• Request online. Complete a five-minute online request, or book a short call with a doctor – bulk billed with Medicare. Either way, a doctor confirms that at-home STI testing is suitable for you.
• Receive your equipment. Collection equipment tailored to your exposures ships the same or next business day in an unmarked mailer box with Australia Post tracking.
• Collect at home. Follow the included STI testing self-collection guide – swabs and urine for the lab, and, if you’ve added HIV testing, a fingerprick HIV self-test you read at home in 15 minutes.
• Post to the lab. Post your lab samples back the same day using the included prepaid return label – at any Australia Post Office, red street posting box or Parcel Locker.
• Get your results. A doctor reviews every lab test result and emails you privately. Telehealth follow-up included – with help accessing treatment and telling partners, if needed.

The same steps are on the home page under How it works, and fees are under Pricing.

When at-home testing isn’t right

See someone in person at a sexual health clinic (opens in new tab), GP clinic (opens in new tab) or urgent care clinic (opens in new tab) instead if you have symptoms or if you’re under 16. And if you may have been exposed to HIV in the last 72 hours, don’t wait for a test – visit www.getpep.info (opens in new tab) or go to a sexual health clinic (opens in new tab) or emergency department (opens in new tab) as soon as you can. If something happened without your consent, 1800RESPECT (opens in new tab) is also available 24/7 for free, confidential support.