This discussion is now closed.

Check out other Related discussions

How effective are condoms?

8

OK so I was watching Friends and it was the episode where Ross and Joey get stressed cos they find out condoms are only like 99% safe or something? Anyway it got me thinking if you were on the pill as well is there basically no chance of getting pregnant?

Reply 1

~NC~

11

I think they are 99% safe, we had an assembly recently about a women with HIV apparently the condom they were using burst and she was unlucky enough to catch HIV, however they are 99% effective, if you are worried about getting pregnant which is higly unlikely take the pill aswell

Reply 2

Dalimyr

17

The likelihood of a condom having a hole in it, and hence not actually protecting the sex, is very small - 1% or 5%, IIRC...not entirely sure, though, but I'm 99% sure that it's no more than a 5% chance of failing.

The pill has a very similar chance of preventing pregnancy, and the two together should almost certainly stop it from happening.

Even with a hole in the condom and the girl not being on the pill, it's not guaranteed that the girl would get pregnant.

Reply 3

spoon1

13

when combined with the pill, you can be practically 100% sure you won't get preggers. But ONLY condoms can prevent you from catching unwanted diseases, remember!

Reply 4

Dalimyr

17

spoon1

when combined with the pill, you can be practically 100% sure you won't get preggers. But ONLY condoms can prevent you from catching unwanted diseases, remember!

Mmm, forgot to mention that second part, though I did mean to :redface:

Reply 5

CherryGarcia

1

i think they are safe, as long as they are good quality

Reply 6

xXMessedUpXx

15

It's more 97/98%

But always use ones that are kitemarked (durex, mates, trojan) and as a backup i'd use the pill/injection/implant/patch

Reply 7

xelprep

hey kids! 99% is not very good at all if you think about it. that means if you have sex 1000 times, 10 times it will fail! and just because its 99% chance of being safe, it doesnt mean it couldn't fail the FIRST time.

so you should pick your fruits with the utmost care! if they're dirty throw them back into the bushes.

Reply 8

Dalimyr

17

xelprep

hey kids! 99% is not very good at all if you think about it. that means if you have sex 1000 times, 10 times it will fail! and just because its 99% chance of being safe, it doesnt mean it couldn't fail the FIRST time.

Think of it from another perspective. Sure, there's a realistic chance of a condom or the pill failing to protect you, but if you're being sensible and are taking both precautions, what are the chances of BOTH failing? And again I feel I have to mention that you're not guaranteed to become pregnant the first time they fail.

Reply 9

Muse

13

xelprep

hey kids! 99% is not very good at all if you think about it. that means if you have sex 1000 times, 10 times it will fail! and just because its 99% chance of being safe, it doesnt mean it couldn't fail the FIRST time.

so you should pick your fruits with the utmost care! if they're dirty throw them back into the bushes.

Don't forget the 99% average includes people who probably think ripping the condom before sex is actually a prerequisite of love making.

Reply 10

Apricot Fairy

16

Why take the risk? Be discerning about who you sleep with, get tested for STDs, take the pill and use condoms. Then you can enjoy sex properly. You'd have to be the unluckiest person in the world for anything to happen.

Reply 11

Frogmansmall

1

Mates are good. Durex Extra Safe failed on me 1st time so i wont be using them anymore lol.
Ive heard too many bad things about the pill and sideffects.
The morning After pill worked for us when the condoms failed tho :smile:

Reply 12

SamTheMan

17

xelprep

hey kids! 99% is not very good at all if you think about it. that means if you have sex 1000 times, 10 times it will fail! and just because its 99% chance of being safe, it doesnt mean it couldn't fail the FIRST time.

so you should pick your fruits with the utmost care! if they're dirty throw them back into the bushes.

That's not at all what the figures mean.

They measure the number of non-promiscuous couples out of 100, who use condoms as the sole form of contraception, in which the woman ends up pregnant after A YEAR.

Plus I'm not even sure pregnancy is the only case where the condom can consider to have 'failed'.

Reply 13

Dalimyr

17

SamTheMan

Plus I'm not even sure pregnancy is the only case where the condom can consider to have 'failed'.

Indeed not...if a condom fails, not only is the girl at risk of becoming pregnant, but the transmission of STDs can also occur.

Reply 14

Laursy

10

i have had a condom split in the past and i became pregnant but unfortunalty i miscarried, about 4 months ago

if you the precautions its not going to happen every single time you have sex!!!

if you believe in it or do not wish to be pregnant you can take the morning after pill and also get yourself checked out just in case you are worried to put your mind at risk!!

i personally wouldn;t take the MApill again it made me sick when i took it last year

Reply 15

Lauren Hart

3

ye, in your case you're very safe, its 1 in every 100 women a year that get pregnant on the pill, and something 3 per hundred with condoms, put the two together, and its a really small chance! Always worth being sti tested though!

Reply 16

mademoiselle84

1

not that effective.
ive had 4 break on me and one just fall off mid action. if you are doing it regularly enough i would always say be on the pill as well.

Reply 17

Flicker

13

xelprep

hey kids! 99% is not very good at all if you think about it. that means if you have sex 1000 times, 10 times it will fail! and just because its 99% chance of being safe, it doesnt mean it couldn't fail the FIRST time.

so you should pick your fruits with the utmost care! if they're dirty throw them back into the bushes.