Protecting yourself during sex
How condoms, testing and vaccines help protect your sexual health.
✓ Clinically reviewed · Catherine, RN & Juah, RN
When should I get help?
- If you notice anything unusual in your genital area or are worried about an infection, see a health worker.
- If you had sex without a condom and are worried about HIV, ask a health worker quickly about testing and prevention medicine (PEP).
Key things to remember
- Use a condom correctly every time you have sex.
- Many STIs have no symptoms — testing is the only way to know.
- Vaccines protect against hepatitis B and HPV.
📖 Read the full lesson
Condoms, used correctly and every time, are one of the most effective ways to protect against sexually transmitted infections (STIs), including HIV. Use them for vaginal, oral and anal sex when possible.
Condoms do not fully protect against infections that cause sores outside the area they cover, such as syphilis and genital herpes.
Testing for HIV and other STIs, and treating sexual partners, help stop infections from spreading. Vaccines are available against two infections spread by sex: hepatitis B and HPV.
Many STIs cause no symptoms, so you can have one without knowing. Getting tested is the only way to be sure.
📚 Sources
- World Health Organization — Sexually transmitted infections (fact sheet) 10 Sep 2025 · accessed 31 Oct 2026
- World Health Organization — HIV and AIDS (fact sheet) 27 Jul 2026 · accessed 31 Oct 2026
Written in plain language from these sources. It does not imply endorsement by these organizations.
HH-ART-008 · Version 1.0 · Last updated 4 Nov 2026
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