Absolutely yes! Latex condoms have been tested and retested by manufacturers, researchers and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to make sure people are getting great protection.

And you are! When you use a condom correctly each time you have oral, anal or vaginal sex, you are getting a lot of help at preventing pregnancy and the transmission of sexually transmitted diseases (STDs). Just check out these facts (and, for you skeptics, the research behind them):

Latex condoms are highly effective in preventing the transmission of HIV during vaginal, oral or anal intercourse.

In a two-year study of couples in which one person was already infected with HIV and the other person wasn’t, not one uninfected partner contracted HIV when the couple used condoms correctly each time they had sex.

When used correctly, latex condoms are 98 percent effective at preventing pregnancy, and they are highly effective at preventing most sexually transmitted diseases (STDs), including chlamydia, gonorrhea, herpes, syphilis and HIV.

Have you ever heard that condoms are porous, meaning that they have pores or tiny holes? It isn’t true. Latex works to completely block small viruses and bacteria that cause STDs. This means that even though viruses and bacteria are very small, they still cannot pass through latex condoms. Sperm can’t pass through either.

Using condoms lowers the risk of human papillomavirus (HPV) infection and women’s and girls’ risk of developing cervical cancer, a disease associated with HPV.