This new female condom will also be significantly less expensive than the first generation female condom.

As you’ve seen from my other posts, I’ve had a lot of experience with different kinds of condoms, but I have to say I’ve never had experience with the Female Condom.  What do you guys think about it?  Is is comfortable?  Worth the price?

Thanks for your email, Anonymous.  This is a problem that more men than you think have to deal with.  And, given the stigma surrounding the problem, many men have to suffer silently. 

Research  indicates that there are a number of causes for the problem, some mental and some physical.  Treatments vary, but, in my opinion, you should always try the non-medicinal treatments first. 

One treatment is called the “Squeeze Treatment.”  See the link below for a site describing the treatment, but the process goes:  when you feel like your about to go, have your partner squeeze the part of the penis where the head joins the shaft.  Do this until the feeling stops.  The squeezing, often, will reduce the urge to ejaculate.  Keep practicing this method and hopefully you will be able to last longer.  If you don’t have a partner to practice with, try masturbating and stopping right before you are about to ejaculate…this won’t be easy, but it can be effective.   Other treatments include antidepressants and psychotherapy, but try the natural approach first to be safe.

You should also try using condoms with Benzocaine.  There are a number of condoms on the market with this numbing agent–Durex Performax is a popular one–which really do numb your member and let you go longer.

I hope this helps, anonymous.  Try the condoms and try the squeeze method.  Then go to your doctor if all else fails.

Any other tips for our friend…post em here.

Link to Mayo Clinic site: http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/premature-ejaculation/DS00578/DSECTION=treatments-and-drugs

I’ve heard that condoms can’t protect you from HPV.  Is that true?  Are there any other STDs that condoms don’t protect against? 

Unfortunately, the answer is yes.  Though condoms are effective in protecting you from many sexually transmitted diseases, HPV, or the Human Papillomavirus can be transmitted while using a condom.  Often, men will not show any symptoms of having the condition, so the transmission rate is quite high.  If you are a girl and are concerned about transmission, visit http://www.gardasil.com/hpv/?WT.mc_id=GL0DA,  more info on the vaccine that can help prevent contraction of the disease. 

The good thing is that condoms really are effective in preventing most other STDs.  There are, of course, people who will tell you otherwise, but they are wrong.  When used correctly and often, condoms have been proven to be effective in preventing pregnancy and transmission of STDs like the particularly dangerous HIV. 

Thanks for the question, though and hope this helps. Have any other questions?  Post ‘em here.

Mr. Condom

I’ve been starting to get emails from readers asking for advice about sex and condoms (which is great) and I wanted to encourage more of you to send in with your questions and problems.  One reader recently emailed me the following:

I was about to have sex for the first time with a girl I’ve liked for a long time.  I asked her out and she agreed, the date went great, and we ended up back at my place.  We ended up in my bedroom and we stripped down naked and everything was going good.  Then I asked her if I should use a condom.  Then she got weird.  She acted upset and wouldn’t answer.  She finally said yes, but the sex was awkward and even more awkward afterwards.  What happened?

Well Readers, there are a lot of things that can go wrong during sex (lots of things can go wrong before and after too, but thats for another post).  What happened here to our friend? He made a mistake  that we will all probably make once or twice.  He had a moment of doubt.  He lacked confidence in his condom decision and wavered.  His question brought his girl out of the moment unnecessarily.  If you can help it, never take the girl out of the moment.  Sex (especially first-time sex) is passionate and wild.  Most girls want you to be in control and confident.  The last thing women want is for you to be checking in with them about how to put your dick in them or if you should wrap a condom on.   Questions like these bring the girl out of the moment and into her head.  If you think you need a condom (which you probably do) then put one on.  The girl will admire your confidence.

Have any problems you’d like to share?  Share ‘em here.

It’s recently come to my attention that the majority of my readers are men.  And, I suppose this makes sense, as I’ve been talking about sex and condoms and it usually fall’s into the guy’s realm of responsibility to make sure protection is procured.   With this in mind, I did a survey of my readers over the past week about a most important question. 

If you are sexually active and not a moron, then you have probably used condoms.  You’ve also likely stood in the pharmacy for an awkwardly long time staring at the selection.  Ribbed, twisted, magnum, flavored, studded, smooth, lubricated…and these are just the standard choices.  How do you decide what to use?  Well, I asked my readers to let me know which are the best condoms if you’re looking to please your lady.  NOTE: I didn’t ask which are the best condoms to please your own member.  These condoms, according to my readers (I also put  my own favorite in here), are the best to bring your betty to ecstasy.  I’ll be following up later with posts about the best condoms for men and so forth.  This list is just for men looking to impress.  So, here goes:

The 5 Best Condoms To Please Your Women:

1.  Trojan Twisted Pleasure.  This is my own personal favorite, as well as a number of my readers’.  Made by Trojan Brand Condoms, this rubber is well suited to please with unique ribs that are ‘twisted’ along the shaft of the condom that add smooth, intense sensation to both the man and the woman. 

2.  Trojan Her Pleasure.  Trojan scores high marks with this condom too.  This one is specially contoured to fit your member and has ribbing along the shaft.

3.  Lifestyles Warming Pleasure.  Equipped with a special lubricant that causes a tingling sensation. 

4.  Durex Pleasure Curve.  Specially contoured to fit around the head of the penis, this condom lets the girl feel you more than normal condoms.

5.  Beyond Seven Aloe.  This one I’ve never tried, but my readers tell me that the aloe drives women nuts.  The aloe causes a cooling sensation for the girl that she’s never felt before.  I guess I have some research to do.

That’s it guys.  Have any experience with these five condoms?  Do we need to revise the list?  Let me know by posting below.

In my last couple posts, I’ve been talking a bit about what to do when disaster strikes during sex.  Today I thought I would write quickly about an important step to prevent disaster.  This is actually a question I hear quite often from guys who are just starting to have sex and even some who are veterans but never stopped to think.  The question is: how do I know what size condom to use?  Are different condoms that much different from one another or is there an average size? 

To answer this question, it helps to keep in mind that the average erect penis length is between 5-6 inches.  The vast majority of men (no matter what you read) falls within this medium length (see Wikipedia article on penis length for details on study).  To accomodate the average penis length, condom manufacturers have made the standard condom just over 7 inches (around 7.5 inches).  This bit of excess length ensures enough room at the rolled end to rest securely at the base of the condom. 

So what size condom should you use?  Well, is your erect penis significantly over 7 inches?  Be honest.  Now more honest…The majority of men will answer no and for them, a standard condom should be fine.  For you statistically lucky few, go with Magnum brand condoms or other condoms custom-built for bigger guys.  If you are smaller than the the average, no worries.  You can try using a standard condom and just rolling it part of the way down.  As long as the condom is snug and won’t leak you should be fine.  If it doesn’t feel right, there are smaller condoms that you can buy.  I’ll write more about these condoms and where to find them later, but a Google search will get you there.

Have any tips for our readers on finding the right condom?  Have any favorites?  Post em’ here and let us know.

If you didn’t watch the episode, you’ve no doubt heard about rucus.  If not, prepare yourself. Those with weak stomachs, read no further…the primetime soap opera ‘Gossip Girl’, a show about rich kids and their relationships set in New York, included a threesome in last week’s episode (GASP!).  The context was as follows: three of the characters (sorry I don’t watch the show so don’t know the names) were going over what people have to do before leaving college.  One of those things to be checked off was a menage a trois, which apparently followed soon afterward.   

A proverbial firestorm surrounded this episode, both pre and post airing.  Parent advocacy groups around the country decried that this show was polluting the pure, untouched minds of their tweens and teens; that their children would now see sex as a game, and trysts with two or more partners, well these would not only be fun, but necessary to fit in.  The Parents Television Council even asked the CW not to air the episode at all. 

What did all this huffing and puffing by parent advocacy groups amount to?  Well, it certainly contributed to some record ratings for the show.  They even got me, someone who hardly heard of the show before, writing about it (I even looked the show up and noticed some very hot stars on the show…maybe I will take a look).  In the end, what these prudy pontificators proved is that puritan adult anxiety is alive and well in America and that parents are clearly more interested in perpetuating the fantasy that their kids know nothing about sex, which, of course, is ridiculous.

Instead of whining about a show dealing with a topic any sixth grader has whispered about at their lockers with his/her friends, why not use these opportunity as a real teaching moment.  Your kid says theres a threesome on the show: ask your kid if they used condoms.   Parents, of course, don’t have to condone the actions in the show, but they certainly owe it to their kids to admit to the existence of the acts.  Parents, in my opinion, should spend less time sheltering and more time edifying their children on how to protect themselves.  Talk with kids about condoms, pregnancy, and STDs. 

What are your thoughts, readers?  Did parent groups overreact?  Should parents take this as an opportunity to talk with their kids about condoms and sex? 

Few things are better than sex.  Even fewer things, however, are worse than pulling out and seeing that your condom broke.  The sheer, wide-eyed terror that follows the first glance at the cracked contraceptive is hard (excuse the pun) even to write about.  What follows is either an uncomfortable (often silent) ride to planned parenthood or your girlfriends doctor’s office, or weeks of waiting and praying for punctuality.  To sum it up: you don’t want this to happen.  There are a few practices that will dramatically decrease your odds of going through this painful post-sex situation.  Here are a few.

1. Make sure the condom is lubricated.  Most condoms you purchase come with a layer of lubrication on the outside of the material (make sure the condom is rolled down your member correctly, of course), although some condoms are non-lubricated, so read the label. Remember, though, every girl is different.  It may be that the standard amount of lubrication that comes with the condom is not enough.  Always keep extra lubrication on hand and remember, more is better.  Without proper lubrication, the condom can tear or become stuck (see previous post) in the girls vagina.  You don’t want either. 

2.  Make sure the condom is the right size.  Also mentioned in the previous post, but if the condom is not the right size (ie. too small or too big) the condom can easily slip off.  You might not even notice when this happens (especially if you’ve been drinking).  Find your size and stick too it. 

3.  Check the expiration date on your condom.  Haven’t been laid in a while?  Well, then neither has your condom.  Condoms past expiration no longer carry the 99% efficacy rate.  The materials that make up the condom break down over time and become less effective.  Be safe.  If you think your going to get lucky, buy a new pack.

4.  Don’t carry condoms in your wallet or pocket for extended periods of time.  Make sure that wherever you store your condoms, that it the condom is not being jostled around.  Pockets and wallets seem like great places to put your condoms, but they are also places where condoms can be easily battered.  Keep the condoms safe and you’ll be safe.

Have any other tips for keeping condoms from breaking?  Let me know and I’ll post your comment.

Today we’ll start with some advice about what to do when things go wrong in the bedroom.  Though this is a fairly rare occurrence, it can happen and when it does, it is important you know what to do (for a number of reasons).  We will be talking about what to do when the condom comes off during sex and gets lodged in the vagina. 

The first thing to note is that you (the guy) should always be aware of whether the condom is still on during sex.  What, you might be thinking?  Of course I’ll know if the condom is on or not…its a condom.  Still, when things are going well and your in the heat of the moment, its possible you will miss it if it comes off.  If in doubt, always check. 

When preventative measures fail and the condoms come off…what next.  When this does happen, don’t panic.  The first thing you should do is to remove the condom from the vagina.  It is likely that the condom become lodged toward the end of the vaginal canal towards the cervix.  Remove the condom by inserting two or three fingers into the vagina and pulling out the condom.  It is very important that the condom is removed quickly (within a couple of hours at the ver latest).  If the condom is not removed, bacteria can build up and cause infection (the same thing happens when tampons are left in too long or IUDs are used incorrectly).  So get the condom out.  If you or the guy can’t remove it, go to the hospital for help.  It may be embarrassing, but so is explaining the resulting infection. 

You’ll also probably be thinking: am I pregnant?  And the answer is: maybe.  If the condom slipped off after ejaculation (when you were removing the member) then it is very probable semen leaked into the vaginal canal and puts you at risk for pregnancy.  If you did not ejaculate, there is still a chance (though decidedly less of a chance) that you are pregnant.  Pre-ejaculate can contain semen (especially if you ejaculated prior to sex), which puts you at risk.  Best bet?  Get some emergency contraception from your doctor or planned parenthood within 72 hours after this happens.

Any other advice for our readers?

So what is the most blood curdling sex-related disaster you can think of?  Think hard.  Now harder.  Your getting closer…As a guy, this possibility might not even cross your mind.  But it can happen.  You can…break…your penis.  It’s true.  No amount of condoms can help you here.

The condition is technically called ‘penile fracture’ and occurs when the penis is erect.  Though there are no bones in the penis, when the penis is erect there is a tube in called the tunica albuginea that fills with blood.  If the penis sustains trauma while erect, this tube can rupture causing blood to spill out into surrounding tissue and cause serious damage.  Medical treatment is needed immediately or long-term consequences are likely.

How can this happen?  Well, use your imagination, but one scenario could happen during sex when the girl is on top.  Say the girl is getting into it and thrusting up and down rapidly.  OK, so far so good.  But at one point, she goes up too far.  She then thrusts down hard and misses the mark, reigning the force down on your penis with her pelvic bone. SSNNAAPP!  Broken penis.  This can happen easier than you think…so be careful.  Where a condom and don’t break your penis…sounds easy enough. 

Has this ever happened to you?  Any tips for avoiding broken penis syndrome? Let’s hear your story.