Condom

Most male condoms are made of latex. Those made of lambskin may offer less protection against some STDs, including HIV, so use of latex condoms is recommended. For people who may have an allergic skin reaction to latex, both male and female condoms made of polyurethane are available.

When properly used, latex and polyurethane condoms are effective against most STDs. Condoms do not protect against infections spread from sores on the skin not covered by a condom (such as the base of the penis or scrotum). For those having sex, condoms must always be used to protect against STDs even when using another method of birth control.

history of condom
Whether condoms were used in ancient civilizations is debated by archaeologists and historians. In ancient Egypt, Greece, and Rome, pregnancy prevention was generally seen as a woman's responsibility, and the only well-documented contraception methods were female-controlled devices. In Asia prior to the fifteenth century, some use of glans condoms (devices covering only the head of the penis) is recorded. Condoms seem to have been used for birth control, and to have been known only by members of the upper classes. In China, glans condoms may have been made of oiled silk paper, or of lamb intestines. In Japan, they were made of tortoise shell or animal horn.

In 16th century Italy, Gabriele Falloppio wrote a treatise on syphilis. The earliest documented strain of syphilis, first appearing in a 1490s outbreak, caused severe symptoms and often death within a few months of contracting the disease. Fallopio's treatise is the earliest uncontested description of condom use: it describes linen sheaths soaked in a chemical solution and allowed to dry before use. The cloths he described were sized to cover the glans of the penis, and were held on with a ribbon. Fallopio claimed that an experimental trial of the linen sheath demonstrated protection against syphilis.

After this, the use of penis coverings to protect from disease is described in a wide variety of literature throughout Europe. The first indication that these devices were used for birth control, rather than disease prevention, is the 1605 theological publication De iustitia et iure (On justice and law) by Catholic theologian Leonardus Lessius, who condemned them as immoral. In 1666, the English Birth Rate Commission attributed a recent downward fertility rate to use of "condons", the first documented use of that word (or any similar spelling).

A condom made from animal intestine circa 1900.In addition to linen, condoms during the Renaissance were made out of intestines and bladder. In the late 15th century, Dutch traders introduced condoms made from "fine leather" to Japan. Unlike the horn condoms used previously, these leather condoms covered the entire penis.

From at least the 18th century, condom use was opposed in some legal, religious, and medical circles for essentially the same reasons that are given today: condoms reduce the likelihood of pregnancy, which some thought immoral or undesirable for the nation; they do not provide full protection against sexually transmitted infections, while belief in their protective powers was thought to encourage sexual promiscuity; and they are not used consistently due to inconvenience, expense, or loss of sensation.

Despite some opposition, the condom market grew rapidly. In the 18th century, condoms were available in a variety of qualities and sizes, made from either linen treated with chemicals, or "skin" (bladder or intestine softened by treatment with sulphur and lye). They were sold at pubs, barbershops, chemist shops, open-air markets, and at the theater throughout Europe and Russia. They later spread to America, although in every place there were generally used only by the middle and upper classes, due to both expense and lack of sexual education.

Great depression


In 1930 the Anglican Church's Lambeth Conference sanctioned the use of birth control by married couples. In 1931 the Federal Council of Churches in the U.S. issued a similar statement. The Roman Catholic Church responded by issuing the encyclical Casti Connubii affirming its opposition to all contraceptives, a stance it has never reversed.

In 1932, Margaret Sanger arranged for a shipment of diaphragms to be mailed from Japan to a sympathetic doctor in New York City. When U.S. customs confiscated the package as illegal contraceptive devices, Sanger helped file a lawsuit. In 1936, a federal appeals court ruled in United States v. One Package of Japanese Pessaries that the federal government could not interfere with doctors providing contraception to their patients. In 1938, over 300 birth control clinics opened in America, supplying reproductive care (including condoms) to poor women all over the country. Programs led by U.S. Surgeon General Thoman Parran included heavy promotion of condoms. These programs are credited with a steep drop in the U.S. STD rate by 1940.

Two of the few places where condoms became more restricted during this period were Fascist Italy and Nazi Germany. Because of government concern about low birth rates, contraceptives were made illegal in Italy in the late 1920s. Although limited and highly controlled sales as disease preventatives were still allowed, there was a brisk black market trade in condoms as birth control.

In Germany, laws passed in 1933 mandated that condoms could only be sold in plain brown wrappers, and only at pharmacies. Despite these restrictions, when World War II began Germans were using 72 million condoms every year. The elimination of moral and legal barriers, and the introduction of condom programs by the U.S. government helped condom sales. However, these factors alone are not considered to explain the Great Depression's booming condom industry. In the U.S. alone, more than 1.5 million condoms were used every day during the Depression, at a cost of over $33 million per year (not adjusted for inflation).

One historian explains these statistics this way: "Condoms were cheaper than children." During the Depression was that condom lines by Schmid gained in popularity: that company still used the cement-dipping method of manufacture. Unlike the latex variety, these condoms could be safely used with oil-based lubricants. And while less comfortable, older-style rubber condoms could be reused and so were more economical, a valued feature in hard times.

More attention was brought to quality issues in the 1930s. In 1935, a biochemist tested 2000 condoms by filling each one with air and then water: he found that 60% of them leaked. The condom industry estimated that only 25% of condoms were tested for quality before packaging. The media attention led the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to classify condoms as a drug in 1937 and mandate that every condom be tested before packaging. Youngs Rubber Company was the first to institute quality testing of every condom they made, installing automatic testing equipment designed by Arthur Youngs (the owner's brother) in 1938. The Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act authorized the FDA to seize defective products; the first month the Act took effect in 1940, the FDA seized 864,000 condoms. While these actions improved the quality of condoms in the United States, American condom manufacturers continued to export their rejects for sale in foreign markets.

Etymology

"Pronunciation: \ˈkän-dəm, ˈkən-, dialect -drəm\
Function: noun
Etymology: origin unknown
Date: circa 1706
1 : a sheath commonly of rubber worn over the penis (as to prevent conception or venereal infection during coitus)
2 : a device that is designed to be inserted into the vagina before coitus and that resembles in form and function the condom used by males" merriem webster

"a thin rubber sheath worn on the penis during sexual intercourse as a contraceptive or to protect against infection. — ORIGIN of unknown origin" Oxford dictionary

Etymological theories for the word "condom" abound. By the early 1700s, the invention and naming of the condom was attributed to an associate of England's King Charles II, and this explanation persisted for several centuries. However, the "Dr. Condom" or "Earl of Condom" described in these stories never existed, and condoms had been used for over one hundred years before King Charles II ascended to the throne.

A variety of Latin etymologies have been proposed, including condon (receptacle),[55] condamina (house), and cumdum (scabbard or case). It has also been speculated to be from the Italian word guantone, derived from guanto, meaning glove. William E. Kruck wrote an article in 1981 concluding that, "As for the word 'condom', I need state only that its origin remains completely unknown, and there ends this search for an etymology." Modern dictionaries may also list the etymology as "unknown".

Other terms are also commonly used to describe condoms. In North America condoms are also commonly known as prophylactics, or rubbers. In Britain they may be called French letters. Additionally, condoms may be referred to using the manufacturer's name.
condom net


Advantages
Provides protection against pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases.
Condoms have a slight tourniquet effect on the outer veins of the penis. This may be beneficial for men who have trouble keeping an erection.
The condom frequently prolongs a man's ejaculation.

Disadvantages
A few men can not maintain an erection after putting on a condom.
The woman is not aware of warm fluid entering her body (important to some women, not to others).
Friction of the condom may reduce clitoral stimulation and reduce lubrication, making intercourse less enjoyable or even uncomfortable. (Lubricated condoms may reduce this problem.)
Intercourse may be less pleasurable since the man must withdraw his penis immediately after ejaculation.
Allergic reactions to latex condoms are rare, but they do occur. (Changing to condoms made of polyurethane or animal membranes may help.)


Important Tips
Make sure condoms are available and conveniently located. If no condoms are handy at the time of a sexual encounter, you may be tempted to have intercourse without one.
Carefully withdraw the penis immediately after ejaculation so that semen cannot leak out of the condom as the erection is lost.
Use each condom only once.
Do not carry condoms in your wallet for long periods of time. Replace them every once in a while. Friction from opening and closing your wallet, and from walking (if you carry your wallet in your pocket) can lead to tiny holes in the condom. Nevertheless, it is better to use a condom that has been in your wallet for a long time than to not use one at all.
Don't use a condom that is brittle, sticky, or discolored. These are signs of age, and old condoms are more likely to break.
If a condom package is damaged, don't use the condom because it also may be damaged.
Do not use a petroleum-based substance such as Vaseline as a lubricant. These substances break down latex, the material in some condoms.
If you feel a condom break during intercourse, stop immediately and put on a new one. Remember, ejaculation does not have to occur for a pregnancy to result (pre-ejaculatory fluids can contain active sperm), or for a disease to be transmitted.
If ejaculation occurs with a broken condom, insert a spermicidal foam or jelly to help reduce the risk of pregnancy or STD transmission. (Do NOT use nonoxynol-9.)
Store condoms in a cool, dry place away from sunlight and heat.