Tips to avoid STIs

  1. Get an STI test every 3 to 6 months if you are sexually active and complete treatment. 
  2. During sexual activity, use a condom or oral dam. 
  3. Talk to your sexual partners about when they were last tested and how they protect themselves.
  4. Keep sex toys clean and use condoms on sex toys if they are being shared. 
  5. Avoid oral and genital sex if there are cuts or sores present. 
  6. Keep up-to-date on immunizations. In Yukon, immunizations are done at either Yukon Communicable Disease Control (YCDC), Whitehorse Health Center or your local community Health Center.

Condoms

Should I use a condom for oral sex?

  • Yes! Condoms for oral sex can prevent infections. You can use flavoured condoms to make it more enjoyable. 
     
  • For oral sex with a vulva or anus, there are oral dams that can come in different flavours as well. A barrier can also be created by cutting the rim of a condom and unrolling it. 

How do I use a condom?

How do I use a condom for a penis?

1. Check the expiry date and the package for an air bubble by pressing on it. If there is no air bubble, do not use the condom.

2. Open the package on the serrated edge with fingers.

3. Pinch the tip of the condom and place it on an erect penis.

4. Roll the condom down to the base of the penis.

5. Lube, with a water-based lubricant.

6. When finished, hold the condom and pull the penis out. Remove condom from the penis while the penis is still hard.

7. Check that the condom has not broken and that semen has not spilled. (If it has, seek emergency contraception and/or STI testing.) Wrap the condom in tissue and throw away in a garbage with a lid.

Health Tip

Water-based lubricants help condoms feel more comfortable. Condoms need to be store at room temperature. Animals are attracted to the smell of latex; make sure you throw them away in a garbage that has a lid.

How do I use a condom for the vagina or anus?

These are called internal condoms and inserted into a vagina or anus. They can stop sperm from entering the vagina. They can prevent STIs by reducing contact between body fluids and skin.

In Yukon, you can get them for free at Blood Ties 4 Directions.

1. Check the expiration date. Open the package along the serrated edge.

2. Remove the condom from the package.

3. Use the thumb and forefinger to squeeze the sides of the inner ring together.

4. Insert the condom into the vagina as far as it can go.

5. Let the outer ring hang about an inch outside the vagina. Insert the penis, making sure it doesn’t go in between the condom and vaginal walls. For anal sex, the step are the same, but the inner ring is removed. Gently pull the condom out of the vagina or anus.

6. Check that the condom has not broken or that semen has not spilled. If it has, seek emergency contraception and/or STI testing. Wrap the condom in tissue and throw away in a garbage with a lid.

For anal sex, the steps are the same, but the inner ring is removed. 

Oral dams

What is an oral dam?

An oral dam is a latex barrier that goes over the vulva or anus for oral sex.

How do you use an oral dam?

1. Check the expiration date and open the package.

2. Unfold the dam and look for damage.

3. Lay the oral dam across vulva or anus

4. After oral sex throw the oral dam away in a garbage with a lid.

Making your own oral dam

Sometimes oral dams can be difficult to find, but there are a couple of different ways to make them using, a condom, here’s one: 

  1. Open the external condom and remove from package. 
  2. Make a small cut in the rim. 
  3. Unroll the condom to make a rectangular piece of latex.
make your own oral dam