What to Do If a Condom Breaks

If a condom breaks during sex, it's important to know what to do so you can act quickly to reduce your risk of pregnancy or sexually transmitted infections (STIs), including HIV.

Condoms are designed to resist breakage in line with manufacturing standards set by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Even so, a condom can burst if it is improperly sized or stored or if it is put on or used incorrectly.

This article explains what to do if a condom accidentally breaks. It also offers tips on how to prevent future accidents by using condoms correctly each and every time.

Tips to Prevent a Condom from Breaking

Verywell / Theresa Chiechi

How Can You Tell a Condom Broke?

When a condom breaks, you can sometimes tell immediately. At other times, you may only realize it when pulling out your penis. At other times still, the breakage may not be all that apparent and require close inspection.

There are different ways to tell if a condom has burst before, during, and after sex:

  • Before sex, you may notice some skin of the penis bulging out of a hole as you put it on.
  • During sex, a tight, uncomfortable condom might suddenly feel comfortable. This can happen if a tight condom suddenly bursts.
  • During sex, you may notice that the sensitivity of your penis suddenly improves, often feeling moister or warmer.
  • During sex, you may feel a ring-like tightening just below the head of the penis (glans). This can occur if a burst condom retracts and bunches up behind the glans.
  • After sex, you may see a visible rip or tear after pulling out.
  • After sex, you might also see semen leaking at the tip or elsewhere on the condom.

Condom breakages can not only affect external ("male') condoms that you place on a penis but also internal ("female") condoms that you insert into a vagina.

How to Check

If you are not sure if a condom has burst, take it to the bathroom and fill it to the top with tap water. If there is a breakage anywhere on the condom, you'll see a tiny stream of water shooting out.

Broken Condom: What to Do Next 

If a condom breaks during sex, stop immediately and carefully pull off the condom. Do not yank it off.

You and your partner will then need to ascertain two things:

  • The extent of the rupture: is there a major rip, a smaller hole, or a tear near the base of the condom? This not only informs how at risk the receptive ("bottom") partner is to pregnancy or an STI but also how at risk the insertive ("top") partner is to STIs like herpes, syphilis, and human papillomavirus (HPV) that are spread through skin-to-skin contact.
  • The extent of the semen exposure: This not only includes semen exposure following ejaculation ("cumming") but also pre-seminal fluid ("pre-cum") that can leak out of the penis during sexual excitement.

These things can help direct the appropriate response for each partner.

For the Receptive Partner

If the condom broke after ejaculation, the exposure to semen is clearly greater. In such cases, try to remove as much semen from the vagina or rectum as possible. You can try squatting or sitting on a toilet and bearing down as if having a bowel movement.

Afterward, gently wash the anus or vagina with soap and water. You should do the same even if there was no ejaculation.

What Not to Do

Do not scrub, douche, or use harsh cleansers or disinfectants on the vagina or anus. These can disrupt delicate tissues and strip away protective mucus, making it easier for STIs to enter the body.

For the Insertive Partner

If you are the insertive partner, immediately wash the penis, scrotum, and groin area with soap and warm water.

You might also try urinating ("peeing") which some studies suggest may reduce the risk of STIs like gonorrhea by flushing the bacteria from the urethra (the tube through which urine exits the body).

Urination appears to be of little benefit to people with vaginas due to the larger area of exposed mucosal tissues and the shorter length of the urethra.

Pregnancy Concerns

If a condom breaks and you're not on birth control, pregnancy can occur. While the risk may be lower if your partner hasn't ejaculated (or the rip is relatively small), you may still want to take precautions just in case.

Emergency Contraception

Emergency contraception is a form of birth control following sexual intercourse. It comes in two forms:

  • Copper intrauterine device (IUD): A T-shaped device placed in the uterus to keep sperm from fertilizing an egg (marketed under the names Paragard, Mirena, and others)
  • Morning-after pills: Includes Ella (ulipristal) taken in one dose, Plan B (progestin only) taken in one dose, or "the pill" (estradiol plus progestin) taken in two doses

Emergency contraception can be started up to five days (120 hours) after unprotected sex, although some morning-after pills work best before three days (72 hours).

When to Take a Pregnancy Test

Even if you've used emergency contraception, you may still want to take a pregnancy test to ensure that you haven't accidentally conceived.

According to Planned Parenthood, you should wait to take a home pregnancy test three weeks after the accidental breakage of a condom (or if your regular period is late).

STI Concerns

A burst condom places you and your partner at risk of any number of STIs. The main concern is HIV, in part because it is incurable but also because the infection may be averted if you take immediate action.

If you think you've exchanged body fluids (namely semen, vaginal fluids, or anal secretion) and you're unsure about your or your partner's HIV status, go to the nearest clinic or emergency room with your partner immediately.

They can assess your risk factors for HIV, offer you a rapid HIV test to see if you have the disease, and decide whether you need a 28-day course of medications called post-exposure prophylaxis therapy (PEP) to reduce your risk of getting HIV. 

How Soon After Should You Get an STI Test?

There are other STIs you will want to check for if you've been accidentally exposed during sex. But you would need to wait before getting tested because STIs have a window period during which the virus or bacteria is not detectable.

Many of these tests detect immune proteins, called antibodies, that are produced in response to the STI. It can sometimes take weeks for the body to produce enough antibodies to be detected by current-generation tests.

Common STIs like chlamydia, gonorrhea, and syphilis can usually be detected in blood tests after two weeks. Combination HIV tests can usually return a reliable diagnosis within 18 to 45 days.

What Are the Signs of an STI?

Symptoms of STIs can vary by the infection type and by whether you have a penis or a vagina. Even so, there are common signs to look out for if you think you've been exposed to an STI:

  • An unusual discharge from the vagina, penis, or anus
  • Pain with urination
  • Rash, blisters, lesions, or ulcers on the genital or anus
  • Skin growths or warts on the genitals or anus
  • Abnormal vaginal bleeding
  • Unusual itchiness of the genitals or anus

Why Would a Condom Break?

While it is possible a flaw occurred during manufacturing, the more likely cause of condom breakage is user error.

Example include:

  • Using an expired condom
  • Exposing the condom to excessive heat (such as in a wallet, glove compartment, or windowsill)
  • Opening the condom package roughly or with your teeth
  • Putting the condom on the wrong side out (which overstretches the latex or rubber)
  • Wearing a condom that is too small
  • Using an oil-based lubricant on a latex condom (which damages latex)
  • Not using any lubricant (which creates extra friction)
  • Putting on two condoms (called"double-bagging," which creates extra friction)
  • Using a condom twice

How to Prevent a Condom From Breaking

Once you understand why condoms break, you can take steps to avoid it from happening. These include:

Summary

If a condom breaks during sex, stop immediately and try to remove any body fluids from the vagina or anus. You should also wash your genitals with soap and warm water.

To prevent pregnancy, you can take the morning-after pill or use a copper IUD within five days of the condom breaking. You can take a home pregnancy test after three weeks to see if you've accidentally conceived.

If there is a risk of HIV, a 28-day course of medications called PEP may avert the infection if started within 72 hours. You can check for other common STIs two weeks or so after the possible exposure and start treatment if the test is positive. For HIV, you may need to wait up to 45 days to get tested.

To prevent condom breakage, store the condom correctly, choose the right size, and learn how to put them on and use them correctly.

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11 Sources
Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read our editorial process to learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.
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By Mark Cichocki, RN
Mark Cichocki, RN, is an HIV/AIDS nurse educator at the University of Michigan Health System for more than 20 years.