By 1970 the potentially serious health risks associated with oral contraceptive (OC) and IUD use started to scare women and men into using barrier methods, condom and diaphragm, which worked effectively and caused no side effects. Condom sales rose dramatically 1975 and have risen 10% year since. Currently, condoms are America's 2nd most popular temporaty contraceptive, after OCs. US pill sales have declined 25% since 1975. If recent sales trends continue, condoms will be more widely used tha OCs by 1985. Contrary to myth, condoms are an effective birth control method. Many men who speak negatively of condoms have never used them. Some, who tried them years ago in the back seat of the family car, rejected them before they were accustomed to them. It takes time to feel at ease with a condom. Condoms are free of side effects and are the only contraceptive that prevents the spread of venereal disease. Drawbacks include: they dull ensitivity; they interrupt; they are embarrassing to buy; and they break. Precautions to prevent most breakage include; open the wrapper carefully before becoming too aroused; make sure the woman is fully lubricated before insertion; store condoms in a cool place; never use a condom whose wrapper has come unsealed; and buy condoms with "receptacle tips." Other suggestioons are: comparison shop; do not buy colored condoms or "textured surface" condoms; after ejaculation, hold the condom on to prevent leaving it, and the ejaculate, inside the vagina; and use each condom only once. If a condom breaks or comes off, immediate insertion of foam can prevent sperm migration. Also the woman should neither douche nor use the morning after pill, which contains the carcinogen diethylstilbestrol.
