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" Diamonds are cool, but c&amp;#039;mon, ladies, condoms are a girl&amp;#039;s best friend. Who else but that little rubber guy is gonna shield you from pregnancy and most sexually transmitted diseases and let you enter hump heaven without worry? (We&amp;#039;d love to say it&amp;#039;s your boyfriend or the hot bartender you took home last week, but sorry, just not true.) Nothing comes close to the protection condoms provide, which is why nearly 8 million American women are taking control and using them regularly, according to The Alan Guttmacher Institute, a sexual and reproductive health research organization in Washington, D.C. Whether you&amp;#039;re already among the legions of love-glove devotees or are more of a condom-come-lately chick, you&amp;#039;ll benefit from our, um, hands-on guide to the popular prophylactic. It covers everything you need to know from the right way to select and store them to avoiding snafus when using one.  Picking a Prophylactic  Not all condoms are created equal. So how do you know which one meets your needs? We sussed out the different types to help you pick your best bet.  Latex If used correctly, these are proven to provide protection against pregnancy and STDs and are the most effective, durable condoms you can buy. However, about 5 to 7 percent of people are allergic to latex, which can cause itching and burning sensations.  Polyurethane This plastic sheath, which also blocks sperm and most viruses, is a good option if you or your partner has a latex allergy. They&amp;#039;re also thinner, so they transmit heat a little better than latex, making sex feel more natural.  Animal membrane This type of condom does not protect against most sexually transmitted diseases, but it does prevent pregnancy, says Robert Hatcher, M.D., professor of OB/GYN at Emory University School of Medicine in Atlanta and coauthor of Contraceptive Technology. (The microscopic openings in the membrane allow some viruses such as HIV to pass through, but not sperm, which are bigger.) So animal membrane is an option only for monogamous couples who were both tested around the same time and found to be STD-free.  If purchasing prophylactics mortifies you, you&amp;#039;ve got to get over it. Remind yourself how smart, in control and super-responsible you are for taking charge of your own health...and his. (And seriously, what&amp;#039;s a little embarrassment compared to an STD or unwanted pregnancy?) But if buying rubbers still makes you blush, you can always order them online. One Website: www.condomania.com.  Hot Tips  Stock up &amp;quot;About 80 percent of the problem with condoms is not having one when the need presents itself,&amp;quot; says Willard Cates Jr., M.D., president of Family Health Institute in Research Triangle, North Carolina. They can&amp;#039;t be effective if you don&amp;#039;t have &amp;#039;em (duh), so do yourself a favor and keep a stash -- in your purse, nightstand, gym bag -- so you&amp;#039;re prepared for any X-rated moment that might arise. Just don&amp;#039;t store them in your hiding place for very long -- over time, heat can make the latex brittle or gummy like an old balloon, increasing the chance of a tear, and condoms can get punctured by pointy objects in your purse. Also be sure to check the condom&amp;#039;s expiration date -- dump any that are past due and buy fresh ones.  Open it like a pro Carefully tear off the top of the condom package with your fingers (no teeth or scissors -- they&amp;#039;re rubber rippers!). Then squeeze the condom out like you would toothpaste. (Don&amp;#039;t stick your fingers in and yank it out -- your nails could damage the condom.)  Slide it on smoothly Most experts say that it doesn&amp;#039;t matter whether your man is hard or soft when you put a condom on him -- just as long as his member is under wraps before he gets that thing near your genital area. This prevents preejaculate -- which can still transmit STDs and cause pregnancy -- from coming into contact with your precious parts. Always pinch the tip once it&amp;#039;s on -- but before you roll it all the way down -- to get rid of air bubbles, which can cause breakage, and also to leave space for semen. The exception: Condoms with reservoir tips (meant to catch semen) are already roomy.  Don&amp;#039;t let him linger Have your partner pull out immediately postorgasm. To prevent any semen from leaking out once he begins to lose his erection, he should grasp the condom at the base of his penis. And remember, no recycling. You must use a new condom with every single sexual act (yes, that includes oral sex too).  Condom 911 Even if you&amp;#039;re a condom queen -- you use them properly (putting one on before his penis comes into contact with your genitals) and consistently (every time you have vaginal, anal and oral sex) -- accidents can happen. The bottom line is, there&amp;#039;s no guarantee they won&amp;#039;t break or slip off. &amp;quot;Condoms break in 1 out of every 100 acts of intercourse,&amp;quot; says Dr. Hatcher. &amp;quot;And slippage happens three to five times more often than breakage.&amp;quot; To prevent breakage, use a water-based lubricant (such as K-Y Jelly or Astroglide), which cuts down on friction and reduces the risk of rips. As for stopping slippage, buy condoms that are the right size for your man (i.e., forget about flattering his ego with extralarge Trojan Magnums if he doesn&amp;#039;t measure up). If the condom does break or slip off during sex, knowing what to do next can help safeguard your health. Follow these smart steps: Wash your outer genitalia immediately with soap and water to help banish some sperm and viruses before they enter your vagina. The jury, however, is still out on douching. Some doctors think it might be a good emergency measure to flush out semen, but others believe the opposite -- that douching can send it (as well as bad bacteria) deeper into your vaginal canal. Another option: calling your doctor for a prescription for emergency contraception (a.k.a. the morning-after pill), which can halt conception if taken within 72 hours of unprotected sex.  Safety Stats  A few more things you should know about condoms:   They are a whopping 97 percent effective at preventing pregnancy when used properly and consistently. (Condom breakage or slipping accounts for the remaining 3 percent.) If you don&amp;#039;t always use a condom consistently or correctly (which is the norm), you have an 86 percent chance of preventing pregnancy. That means 14 out of 100 couples using condoms become pregnant each year. Research shows that condoms are typically about 87 percent effective at stopping HIV. Condoms can greatly reduce your chances of contracting a host of other diseases such as gonorrhea, chlamydia and trichomoniasis. "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.cosmopolitan.com/sex-love/advice/a1565/course-on-condoms/>