Safe sex is more than a physical act. It involves the decision to have sex in a responsible way to avoid becoming infected with or transmitting a sexually transmitted infections (STI).

In the United States, an estimated 15.3 million new cases of STIs are reported each year. STIs do not discriminate by gender, age, ethnic group or economic background.

The most reliable way to avoid joining those numbers is not to have sex, also known as abstinence.

For most people, however, abstinence is not an option or lifelong goal. When this is the case, sexually active people must rely on “safe sex” practices.

1. Talk with your partner before the passion of intimacy distracts you from asking important health-saving questions.
2. You owe it to yourself and your partner/s to learn as much about STI symptoms as possible.
3. Don’t have sex if you have genital sores, warts, itching or sores in your mouth.
4. Avoid any exchange of bodily fluids such as semen, vaginal secretions or blood during sex (anal, oral or vaginal).
5. See your doctor to get checked for STIs if you have any concerns about your risk or the risk of your partner(s).

Although people in a long-term, mutually monogamous relationship with an uninfected partner have a very low risk of STIs, infections may sometimes be passed from partner to partner unknowingly. So make sure you are always prepared.