Condoms: Are they one size fits all?

As a woman, I am supposed to fit the stereotype and enjoy shopping for clothes. My mother loves shopping, my sister enjoys shopping and most of my female friends consider spending their entire Saturdays shopping something to look forward to, even if they have no money to do so. I would much rather know what I want, walk in the store, grab that one piece of clothing, pay and walk right back out. The one problem I have is that I HAVE to try clothes on because a size medium in one brand will fit completely different in a size medium of another brand. If this is the case with clothes, you can imagine that this would also hold true with other items. A study out of Indiana University researches this phenomenon with condoms.

Condoms are meant to protect their users from unwanted pregnancies and sexually transmitted diseases; however, very few consider that not all condom users fit comfortably into the few sizes of condoms currently available. Surprisingly, many doctors have reported receiving frequent complaints from condom users that using condoms is uncomfortable or that the condoms do not fit correctly. As we all know, it is imperative that a condom both fits and is used correctly in order for it to perform its intended function of preventing pregnancy and STDs. This  Indiana University study demonstrates how those condom users who complain about the fit of the condom are often the users who have repeated problems with condoms slipping off or breaking during intercourse.

Michael Reece, the director of the Sexual Health Research Working Group states correctly that most condom research “has focused on how people use condoms with little attention to the physical characteristics of condoms themselves.” The research done in the Indiana study shows how penis size and shape varies widely across the board but condom sizes available do not. It is because some men feel that their condoms either fit too loose or too snug that they often do not feel the desire to wear them during intercourse.

Reece and his fellow researchers on the study concluded that many men feel nervous about approaching their physicians with concerns of penis and condom issues. Because of this, they decided to design a questionnaire specifically for doctors and healthcare workers involved in sexual health that would aid them in initiating these types of conversations with their male patients. Part of their questionnaire is a “Condom Fit and Feel Scale” which allows male patients an easy and confidential way to talk with healthcare professionals about their issues with condom fits.

Part of the Reece’s study reported percentages of men who felt normal sized condoms fit incorrectly: 18 percent of men felt that the condoms were too short on their penis while 7 percent stated that the condoms were too long. Also in terms of the way the condom feels, 21 percent felt the condoms fit too snug while 10 percent felt the condoms were too big or loose.

Reece and his colleagues would like to have healthcare workers in sexual health industries begin using the “Condom Fit and Feel Scale” on a regular basis. They also strongly believe that results of this scale would aid condom manufacturers in developing different condoms that might be more comfortable to men of different sizes, thereby making condoms more effective overall.