Internal condom (FC2)

Internal condoms may take a bit of practice to use, but once you know how to do it, they’re actually pretty easy to use. _How to insert an internal condom:_ 1. Open the package. You’ll see what looks like a thin, tube-shaped bag, with an opening on one end and a flexible ring on the other end, which is closed. 2. Add lube to the outside of the internal condom if you want, to make inserting it easier. You could also put some [spermicide](/birth-control/spermicide) on the closed end as well if you want extra protection from pregnancy. Adding lube inside the internal condom too can make sex more pleasurable for the person with a penis, and it can also help prevent the condom from breaking. 3. Get comfy, like you’re going to put in a tampon or menstrual cup. 4. Put your index and/or middle finger into your vagina and feel for your cervix, so you’ll know how far in to push the closed-end ring. Your cervix will feel sort of hard but squishy, like the tip of your nose. 5. Squeeze the sides of the closed-end ring together. 6. Insert it into your vagina like you would a menstrual cup or tampon with no applicator. Push the closed-end ring as far into your vagina as it’ll go, all the way up to your cervix. Some people place the internal condom over a dildo or penis and put it in place by inserting the toy or penis, but it can be harder to tell if it’s placed correctly if you do it this way. 7. Pull out your finger and let the open end of the internal condom hang about an inch outside your vagina. The outer ring helps keep the internal condom in place and helps protect you from STIs that are transferred through skin-to-skin contact by covering part of your vulva. _Some tips for using internal condoms:_ 1. Don’t use an internal condom and an external condom at the same time. You might think using both would double your protection, but it will actually make it more likely that both will tear. So just pick one to use every time you have sex. 2. Use one internal condom per ejaculation. You will need a brand new one if you want to keep having penis-in-vagina sex after the person with a penis ejaculates. Never rinse out an internal condom and reuse it---this can make it not work as well. 3. Put in a new internal condom if you switch between types of sex, even if the person with a penis hasn’t ejaculated. That means that you will need a new condom if you are switching from anal to vaginal sex or from vaginal to anal sex. 4. Make sure to hold the outside part of the internal condom open when you’re inserting a penis or a toy. That will keep it from getting pushed inside the vagina entirely. Don’t worry if it moves side to side while you’re having sex. That’s normal. But if your partner slips out of the condom and into your vagina, stop sex, remove the internal condom, and insert a new one. But if they ejaculate outside of the internal condom and into your vagina by accident, you may want to consider [emergency contraception](https://www.bedsider.org/methods/emergency_contraception). 5. If you’re using an internal condom for anal sex, the steps are basically the same. The only difference is that some people like to remove the ring from inside the closed end of the condom to make it more comfortable. _How to remove an internal condom:_ 1. Hold the outer ring and twist the part of the internal condom that is outside of your body closed like a baggie, so semen doesn’t spill out. 2. Pull the condom out gently. 3. Throw it away in a trash can (preferably one that is out of the reach of children and pets). Don’t flush it down the toilet. 4. Make sure the partner with a penis washes their penis with soap and water if it’s going to come into contact with the vulva again.