7 Ways to Have Safer Sex Even Without a Condom

From: plus

Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP)

Getting a prescription for pre-exposure prophylaxis, or PrEP, isn't as easy as buying condoms. But if you weren't going to use one anyway, the one-a-day HIV prevention pill is a great way to play safe, regardless of what your partner's status is. PrEP requires you (or your partner if you're a magnetic couple) to take responsibility for your sexual health, a step with its own advantages. Plus, taken correctly, PrEP has been proven more effective than committed condom use. In studies of couples where one is HIV-positive and one is not, PrEP has reduced the risk of HIV transmission by 99 percent, when taken daily by the HIV-negative partner. Even if someone misses a dose, PrEP’s efficacy remains high. The key difference between PrEP and condoms is timing: PrEP is taken daily, with your morning breakfast or right before bedtime. Although it directly impacts sexual health, taking PrEP is separate from the sexual experience (unlike condoms) because you aren’t fumbling for a pill at the height of passion.