Five Simple Ways to Prevent Sexually Transmitted Infection

STI's are very easy to contact but often difficult to treat. The best way avoid long battles with STIs is to prevent them totally. How so?
Five simple ways to protect yourself from STI's are as follows;

1. Use latex condoms

A condom is a physical barrier that can reduce the risks of an individual being exposed to sexually transmitted infections (STI). They are made with substances that do not allow STIs and HIV to pass through them quickly. Condoms can be effective against STI transmission if used correctly and consistently. Laboratory studies confirm that materials like nitrile, latex, polyurethane and polyisoprene don’t allow viruses, bacteria, and other germs pass through them thus preventing the mouth, vagina, penis or rectum from being exposed to bodily fluids. Fluids such as semen, vaginal and rectal fluids can contain STIs. A condom protects you from getting infected to a large extent.

2. Avoid sharing towels, underwear, and trousers
Germs can enter clothes and towels from your body. Everyone has bacteria on the skin surface in our nose and even in our gut. These bacteria are often harmless. However, some can lead to an infection, particularly when a person has skin problems or wounds. Most harmful germs cannot penetrate through a healthy skin.
In the same vein, sharing a towel with someone with a sexually transmitted infection can lead to you getting infected as well. Sharing underwear and even trousers can also spread germs from person to person. Underwear naturally contains bacteria from the traces of feces and genital fluids. When individuals are infected, this infection remains on the underwear. This is why people treating sexually transmitted diseases are encouraged to change their undergarments during and after treatment. Apart from sharing underwear, you can also infect yourself again if you continue to wear an underwear you used during the period of therapy, you can get infected again after treatment. Washing your underwear with water alone doesn’t destroy the sexually transmitted infection. Sharing underwear and even clothes are very unhygienic. However, it is not uncommon especially among roomies or siblings.

3. Vaccination
Vaccines are effective in preventing sexually transmitted infections. Vaccines are available for males and females. HPV and some other forms of disease can be avoided with vaccination. It is imperative to get all three doses before you consider becoming sexually active. You should also get inoculated against Hepatitis B if you did not get immunized when you were younger.

4. Reducing your number of partners
This may seem difficult, especially if you’ve never been a one partner person. However, it’s one of the easiest and most efficient ways to prevent sexually transmitted infections. You and your partner should learn to remain faithful to each other. When you are sure of your sexual partner, then you can avoid getting infected by reducing your number of sex partners to one. One person, you can trust. This can decrease your risk of infection. It is still vital that you and your partner get tested, and also share your test results with each other.

 5.Abstinence
While all the above methods are useful, the best way to completely avoid an STI is by abstaining from sexual activities in general (any activity that includes stimulation of the genital organs). In this case, you have nothing to fear. Even when you get an infection, it would most likely be a toilet disease, or you may have been infected by sharing an underwear or towel. Abstaining from all sorts of sexual encounters is the best way to go. However, if you can’t avoid it then take the above precautions (using condoms should be number one on your list) to prevent STI.