Can a moving condom have an STI risk?

Questions and discussion about contraception, safer sex, STIs, sexual healthcare and other sexual health issues.
Yoda90
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Can a moving condom have an STI risk?

Unread post by Yoda90 »

I had sex with my boyfriend and the condom moved slightly. I noticed it and it didn't slip all the way off but it was because he had ejaculated. I went to the doctors and they said it was a very very minimal risk for pregnancy but as I was anxious they let me take plan B. Since he's had two other partners in the past they said to do an STI test, and after 3 weeks of taking plan b do a pregnancy test but this was just a routine I think.
I've read that the condom does slip and that is normal, but I've only heard about it being a minimal risk for pregnancy. Nobody ever seems to talk about the risk of STIs in terms of the condom moving.
Well I didn't do an STI test because I was too scared. I'm really annoyed I hadn't done it sooner. I spoke to my boyfriend about STIs and he says he has always had protected sex, he seems offended that I would think he wouldn't have protected sex.
So is there a high risk of me catching anything? I know I am over thinking a lot but I'm too scared to get a test - I think I eventually will, but it's so close to Christmas and I don't want it to ruin Christmas for me by waiting for results. If the results were positive I'd question to myself if he's cheated or has had no symptoms for almost a year since his last partner and the idea of that stress makes me anxious. I have a habit of jumping to the worst case scenarios

Edit- Also I know most STIs are caught by bodily fluids and I'm pretty sure he said nothing came out - he insisted that he would know if that happened and it didn't. Other STIs like herpes and hpv are from skin to skin contact, right?

I immediately went onto the contraceptive pill and it doesn't suit me. At first I got moody, then when it got to my period I had worse cramps than ever before. I've also noticed an increase in what I believe is smegma? When I've googled it, it comes up with exactly what I describe. I know people stress over what this stuff is but before I was sexually active I really didn't care and thought of it as normal. I also got a UTI recently and following that the antibiotics gave me a yeast infection. Any little 'symptom' I have I obsess over lately and i know that it is no way to be. The only way is to go to the doctor, really. I don't have any weird discharge just this smegma stuff , when it builds up it does itch. I'm wondering if the pill has messed me up a bit and thrown me off balance down below, but also worried that the condom moving slightly is the actual cause of these problems
Heather
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Re: Can a moving condom have an STI risk?

Unread post by Heather »

Condoms will tend to move some, and never cover the entire genital area, which is one reason why condoms can't reduce the risk of infections to 100%, especially the skin-to-skin kind like HPV and Herpes.

So, people who are or have been sexually active should ideally be regularly tested. Using barriers like condoms are just one part of safer sex: testing is the very important other part. Your partner should be tested, and that's no insult or affront to him, because you both should be simply because you're sexually active people. Do you want any help or support telling him that and making clear you would like both of you to get tested soon just because it is a thing everyone should be doing?

Since you have had a recent yeast infection, I'm not surprised your discharge is funky, if it is. The pill, as part of the way it works, also thickens cervical mucus and dries the vagina out a bit, so it's also common for discharges to look different than before because of that. But too, smegma, if that's what's up, is also a perfectly normal thing for genitals to have (and thicker discharge can mean you'll see more of it). It isn't an indication of anything being wrong.

But again, even without any symptoms or concerns, STI testing is a thing to be doing, and I'd suggest you do it soon. If you don't want to do it very soon, I'd suggest a GYN appointment with whoever you have those with just to make sure this isn't another yeast infection (or that one not really having been cleared up), and they can also tell you in that exam if they have a concern about a possible STI, in which case you really will just want to get tested then. But I'm willing to bet this is either one or more of the things I mentioned in the paragraph above OR another yeast infection, or the same one that just didn't get beat with your treatment.
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Yoda90
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Re: Can a moving condom have an STI risk?

Unread post by Yoda90 »

Thank you for your advice! It's really really appreciated. :)
I have another question, I know you suggested what the itch etc is caused by. I had the yeast infection during the 7day break of my pill and was on my period the same time as the infection. with this in mind and the fact I'm only just about off my period, that makes me think that these occasional itches (that don't persist longer than like 10 seconds at most) are normal. But when it does happen I just overthink right away. Am I right to assume that it's okay?
I do want us to both get tested. I'm scared of getting bad results, but I know I can't let that stop me. I have mentioned it to him this before, very casually, over a message - but maybe I should sit with him and talk about it face to face?

Edit-
However I'll still have a GYN appointment in case the yeast infection isn't completely gone
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Re: Can a moving condom have an STI risk?

Unread post by Sam W »

Hi Yoda,

I think sitting with him and having an explicit conversation about testing sounds like an excellent plan. If you like, you can take this article with you for the two of you to read together so you can feel more prepared for what getting tested will look like: Testing, Testing...
snailshell
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Re: Can a moving condom have an STI risk?

Unread post by snailshell »

This isn't exactly what you asked, but: if you continue to have issues with condoms slipping around, try other brands, sizes, and styles of condoms. It took me and my partners a really long time into our sexually active lives before we realized that all penises are not the same (even though all the ones in porn look similar!) and it's best to try out different sizes and styles of condoms. Most brands have slightly different shapes, so try a few to figure out what works best for your partner to keep them from sliding.
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