Don’t reuse condoms: Yes, the US had to warn its citizens not to do this

WE know times are tough in the United States if you’re not a billionaire, but this tough?

The Centres for Disease Control, a national body tasked with preventing and tackling wide-scale infectious disease outbreaks, has urged US citizens to stop washing and reusing condoms.

You read that right.

“We say it because people do it: Don’t wash or reuse #condoms! Use a fresh one for each #sex act,” the CDC tweeted.

Their reasons sort of seem obvious.

Condoms are thin. They’re carefully packaged to maintain the right degree of moisture to make them adhesive.

Using them changes things.

The latex membrane can be stretched or stressed - increasing the risk of breakage.

The loss of their gel coating makes them more likely to slip off or leak.

And that’s just the practical side of things.

When it comes to sexually transmitted ideas, the CDC says reusing condoms is asking for trouble.

Washing them with soapy water won’t kill off any bacteria or viruses embedded in the latex. And the act of cleaning only further stresses the fragile material, making them even more prone to tear.