What’s Your Safer Sex Strategy?

Page last reviewed 24.10.2025

Three ways to take care of your sexual health without compromising on pleasure: preventing, testing, treating – and enjoying! 

There are many ways to prevent sexually transmitted infections (STIs) and take care of your sexual health. This site provides an overview of the key methods for preventing, testing for, and treating STIs. Sex is more enjoyable when you protect yourself and partners. 

Some STIs can be regularly tested for, such as chlamydia, gonorrhea, HIV, and syphilis. Other STIs, like herpes and condyloma (HPV), are usually diagnosed based on symptoms rather than routine testing. 

Looking after your sexual health doesn’t mean you have to give up pleasure! There are many different safer sex strategies, and the type of sex you have can influence which approach works best for you. 

Have you thought about what your strategy for safer sex looks like?

Preventing

Of all STIs, only HIV has an effective preventive medication. PrEP (Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis) is a medication taken before possible exposure to HIV. It can be taken daily or as needed (on-demand). When used correctly, PrEP is highly effective in preventing HIV when having sex without a condom. 

People taking PrEP need to see a doctor regularly for HIV and STI testing every three months. It’s important to note that PrEP protects only against HIV – no other STIs. 

Condom, on the other hand, offers good protection against both HIV and many other STIs. There are many types of condoms, and trying different kinds can help you find the one that suits you best.  

Condoms and lube are a perfect match. Lubricants decrease the friction during intercourse and help keep the condom intact. In addition, it increases pleasure! Water-based and silicone-based lubricants are both safe to use with condoms. Use lubricant on the condom and always also inside the anus or vagina. 

Testing

Preventing STIs is not always possible. That’s why regular STI testing is important. Many STIs are often asymptomatic, meaning they don’t cause any symptoms. Therefore, the only way to know if you’ve been infected is to get tested. If you have an STI, it can be treated effectively, which also helps stop it from spreading to sex partners. Talk to your sex partners about getting tested and let them know if they may have been exposed to an STI. 

When you get tested for STIs, it is important to tell the healthcare provider what kind of sex you’ve had. This helps ensure you get the right tests and proper treatment if needed. For example, if you’ve had oral sex or rimming, a throat swab is needed to detect any infections in the throat. If you’ve had rimming or anal sex as a bottom, it’s important to mention this because a rectal swab is needed. 

Chlamydia and gonorrhea are tested with a urine sample and, if needed, with swabs from the throat and rectum. HIV and syphilis are always tested with a blood sample. 

Treating

Treating HIV and other STIs is important for both your own health and to prevent passing the infection to your sex partners. Chlamydia, gonorrhea, and syphilis are bacterial STIs, which means they can be cured with antibiotics. It’s important to follow through with treatment properly to make sure the infection is fully cleared and doesn’t cause complications. When STIs are treated correctly, they won’t be passed on to your sex partners. 

HIV is a chronic illness caused by a virus, and people living with HIV need lifelong medication. There is an effective treatment for HIV, and with it, people with HIV can live healthy, normal lives. When taken correctly, HIV medication reduces the virus to undetectable levels. It means HIV cannot be passed on, even when having sex without a condom. 

In Finland, HIV treatment is started as soon as possible after the infection is diagnosed. When HIV medication is taken as prescribed, it reduces the amount of the virus in the body to a very low level. This helps the immune system stay strong and prevents the illness from progressing. Effective HIV treatment can lower the virus to a point where it can’t be detected by standard tests. This is called an “undetectable viral load.” When the virus is undetectable, HIV cannot be passed on even when having sex without a condom. In fact, having a sex partner who is on effective HIV treatment is one of the safest ways to protect yourself from HIV. 

However, there is still no cure for HIV, meaning the virus remains in the body even with treatment. HIV treatment is lifelong. This also means that HIV can always be detected through antibody testing. 

Diagnosing HIV as early as possible and starting treatment right away are very effective ways to prevent new HIV infections. In fact, Treatment as Prevention (TasP) has been a key slogan in English-speaking HIV prevention work for many years. 

It’s also important to treat other STIs properly. For example, if you’re prescribed antibiotics, you should never stop the treatment early or take the medication irregularly. If you don’t complete the treatment, an infection like gonorrhea might not be cured. There’s also a risk of antibiotic-resistant strains developing. Because of this, if you think you might have an STI, it’s important to get tested, get the right diagnosis and treatment. You should not rely e.g. on medications from friends. Read more about STI treatment here>>

What’s Your Safer Sex Strategy? 

There are many ways to protect yourself from HIV. It’s a good idea to think about which option works best for you and your current life situation. Condoms offer strong protection not only against HIV but also against many other STIs. PrEP is a highly effective medication that protects against HIV. A person living with HIV who is on treatment is also a safe sex partner in terms of HIV, because medication prevents HIV from being passed on. 

Sex can be more enjoyable and stress-free when you’ve thought about your own safer sex strategy in advance. This means considering your choices and habits related to sex before you’re in the moment. Below are three examples of different safer sex strategies. 

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