How Often Do Condoms Break?

Wearing a condom during sex is an excellent way to protect yourself from STIs and pregnancy. However, it’s essential to know how to wear a condom to ensure it remains intact throughout intercourse. But how often do condoms break? Fortunately, condom breakage isn’t common, but it can happen. Continue reading to learn more about how often condoms break or slip off, signs of breakage, and more below.

How Often Do Condoms Break or Slip off in Use?

While condoms can break or slip off during use, it’s not a common occurrence. So, how often do condoms break, and how effective are condoms? A study found that 7.3% of condoms reportedly broke during application or use, while 4.4% slipped off.¹ Understanding how to correctly put on a condom can reduce the likelihood of breakage or slipping, allowing you to protect yourself and your partner from STIs and pregnancy. Understanding the connection between condoms and STIs is crucial, as condoms are proven to provide STI protection against chlamydia, gonorrhea, genital herpes, and more.

Broken Condom Signs

Before using a condom, it’s important to check it for signs that it may be prone to breakage. Damaged or worn packaging may be a sign that the condom inside could be damaged and may break, as can expired condoms. As condoms pass their expiration date, they become less elastic and more brittle. An expired condom is much more likely to break than an unexpired one.

It’s not always immediately clear if a condom has broken during sex. If your condom looks broken, it probably is. Sometimes, however, a broken condom may just have a small hole. If you find that semen is visible on the outside of your condom after sex, it’s likely that your condom broke.

But why do condoms break? There are several reasons. Along with use after the expiration date, condoms can break if they’re stored incorrectly. Storing your condoms in a hot car, wallet, or in sunlight can damage the condom’s material, so ensure they’re always kept in a cool, dry place. Additionally, a lack of lubrication and wearing the wrong size can result in a broken condom, so experiment with different sizes and lubes to find the correct fit.

What to Do to Prevent Condom Breakage

To lower your chances of a condom breaking during sex, follow these tips:

Don’t store a condom in your purse or wallet. The friction and jostling can cause added wear and tear that may put your condom at risk of breakage.
Keep condoms away from the sun, heat, or light. These can all cause condoms to degrade more quickly.
Use lube during sex. Too much friction can cause a condom to break. When using lube, always read the condom and lube packaging to ensure they are compatible.
Never use an expired condom. If your condom is past its expiration date, throw it away and find a new one.

Find the right fit. A condom should be snug without being too tight. If your condom is too tightly fitting, it may cause it to break.

Conclusion

When used incorrectly, condoms can break or slip off during use. Once a condom fails, its efficacy drops to zero, so it’s important to use a condom correctly every time.

To lower your chances of a condom breaking during sex, always check the expiration date before using. If your condom has expired, throw it out. If you notice a hole or tear in your condom, stop having sex immediately and replace it. Plus, always be sure to have the right fit. A condom that’s too tight can easily break.