Condom effectiveness and CDC?

Question

Several years ago the CDC and NIH put out a study saying that condoms were not effective in preventing the spread of stds. Three years later they say that they are fine. Which do you think is true? Does it make you mad that they tell you to use them and the tests show that they aren't all that effective?

Answer 1

No one says condoms give you 100% protection because they don't.

They give you a high level of protection.

Seats belts arnt guaranteed to save your life in a car accident but they give a higher level of protection.

Crash helmets aren't either....but they do protect.

Not having sex with anyone means there is no chance of getting an STD. But you might die earlier because of lack of emotional fulfillment.

So, either way you're screwed.

Answer 2

CONDOM FAILURE

An estimated 2% to 5% of condoms tear during use. Most of those failures are thought to stem from misuse, not inherent flaws. And misuse is common: When the British Consumers' Association asked some 300 English men to demonstrate putting a condom on a model penis, nearly one in five got it wrong. They tried to unroll the condom from the inside out. Bruce Burlington, who heads the FDA's Center for Devices and Radiological Health, told CR's reporter that the difference in quality between the best and worst condoms on the market is "tiny compared with the problems that users introduce."

When condoms do break despite being used correctly, it's probably caused by hidden weaknesses in the rubber. Both manufacturers and the government take steps to catch flawed condoms before they can leave the factory. Manufacturers test each lot of condoms for leaks and for strength, according to voluntary guidelines set by the American Society for Testing and Materials. But those tests, which destroy the condoms being examined, can be used only to spot-check a batch of condoms, not to check individual condoms before packaging and sale.

Companies can test every condom for leaks, with a gentler but telling electrical procedure. In one variant of the test, each condom is placed on a charged metal form and swept over by a soft, conductive brush. Minute holes in the condoms trip circuitry that shunts many "leakers" aside. Sometimes this test finds thin spots as well. The FDA, which regulates condoms as medical devices, sends inspectors to factories unannounced. They review production records and examine stock at random, checking for cracked, moldy, dry or sticky rubber. The inspectors also test the condoms, until recently primarily with a water-leakage test. In the water-leakage test, manufacturers pour 10 ounces of water into a condom, then press and roll it along blotter paper. If leaks turn up in the equivalent of more than 4 per 1,000 condoms in a run, the entire lot must be scrapped.

In 1993, the latest year for which CR could obtain data, the FDA rejected 2 of the 44 lots of domestic condoms it checked for leakage. The FDA tests every batch of imported condoms as well, though imports account for very few condoms used in this country. Although the smallest hole the water test can find is 100 times bigger than the HIV virus, officials believe the water test is sufficient. The laboratory and clinical studies of HIV persuade them that smaller holes are rare or possibly even nonexistent. But such minute holes are a problem for "skin" condoms, which are made from a natural pouch in lambs' intestines.

Answer 3

It doesnt make me mad. Condoms are better than not using condoms. I think the problem is 2-fold.
1- some people don't know the correct way to put on a condom (I know, you're asking "there's more than 1 way??")
2-If someone with HPV actively has genital warts, they could be outside of the area that the condom covers, and HPV could be spread anyway.

Answer 4

You can still contract HPV, HSV and various other skin contact diseases with a condom. So unless someone designs the condom-boxers.....

Answer 5

The answer is simple...dont sleep with someone unless you know whether they have a STD.

Answer 6

iv always heard they don't protect from STDs, but even if they do say they will,
do NOT have SEX with someone who has STDS!!!!!

u have a HUGE chance of getting it then!!!

Answer 7

PULL OUT

Is

The only way