Читать книгу Sex For Dummies - Pierre Lehu A., Dr. Ruth K. Westheimer - Страница 122

The sexual revolution was launched with the arrival of the birth control pill. Before that milestone, the risk of an unintended pregnancy was too high, and most (though certainly not all) couples waited until they were married to have sex. However, contraception only works if you use it. And with sexually transmitted diseases so rampant, couples face another set of risks, which is why condom use is also important, whether or not a woman is on the Pill.

Is condom use enough protection? I discuss this more in Chapter 21, but to take one example of why condoms only limit the risk, not obliterate it, genital herpes can appear on other parts of the body besides the genitals. If your partner has herpes virus on the skin of his or her thigh and you have a pimple nearby, you’re at risk of getting herpes whether or not a condom was used during intercourse.

So having sex without first talking about disease transmission is a mistake. I wish I didn’t have to give such advice, that the risks of catching an unwanted disease were so slim that I didn’t have to emphasize it, but sadly that’s not the case. But this turns out to be a very good reason to only have sex with a partner with whom you have a romantic relationship.