Badly fitting condoms reduce sexual pleasure

Badly fitting condoms not only reduce sexual pleasure for men and women, but they are more likely to split and break, increasing the risk of infections and accidental pregnancy, new research has found.

An online survey of 436 men between the ages of 18 and 67 found that 45% of people questioned said they had used a badly fitting condom during sex with a female partner in the past three months.

Men who wore the badly fitting condoms were more than twice as likely to report the condom breaking or slipping and five times more likely to report irritation of the penis.

They are also twice as likely to complain that poorly fitting condoms interfered with getting and maintaining an erection and made it difficult for them and/or their partner to reach orgasm.

Because of this, many users removed their condoms before sex ended, risking an infection or even an unintended pregnancy.

In the study, published online by the journal Sexually Transmitted Infections, the authors say that: "Men and their female sex partners may benefit from public health efforts designed to promote the improved fit of condoms."

Study co-author Dr Bill Yarber from the Kinsey Institute and University of Indiana also voiced concerns that pornography may have distorted men's self image, and warned that men won't buy condoms labelled "small" or "extra small."

This article was published on Tue 16 February 2010