Here's what to do if the condom breaks

Having a condom break during sex is scary, but it happens. Even though you should be using a condom every time you have sex, particularly if you aren’t monogamous and/or aren’t regularly getting tested, the truth is that in practice - which means that, yes, there’s a small chance they could break during sex.

In fact, one survey of 544 men found that 7.3 percent of the time they had sex, the condom broke or slipped off.

If you find yourself in a situation where the condom breaks, don’t panic - take action. Here’s what you need to do.

1) If you haven't ejaculated yet and you notice that the condom broke, stop immediately and replace it with a new one.

If you feel the condom break in the heat of the moment, you may be tempted to just ignore it and keep going. But if you can feel the condom break while you're having sex and you haven't ejaculated yet, stop immediately and remove it, then put on a new one.

2) If you've already ejaculated, go to the bathroom right away.

If it wasn't until after sex that you realize the condom broke, go to the bathroom right away. “Theoretically, urinating afterwards might help to push out some pathogens, so there's no harm in doing that,” says , a gynecologist in New York.

If your partner has a vagina, she should also urinate immediately and wash with warm soap and water. “Cleaning off ASAP may help decrease exposure to sperm and viruses," she says. And if you just had anal sex, the same applies: go to the bathroom and bear down until all fluids have been expelled from your rectum, then wash with warm soap and water.

But be warned: peeing and cleaning yourself after sex "certainly cannot be relied on to prevent infection or pregnancy,” she says. Sure, it may lessen the risk to a minor degree, but it does not eliminate it entirely.

3) If your partner has a vagina, go to the pharmacy to buy emergency contraception.

To reduce the risk of pregnancy, your partner should act as quickly as possible. “If she is not using another contraception method, such as birth control pills, an IUD, or Nexplanon, then she should use emergency contraception,” Brodman says

is typically available over the counter without a prescription. It costs between $40 and $50, and it’s effective up to 72 hours (3 days) after unprotected sex. “Basically, Plan B prevents the attachment of a fertilized egg to endometrial lining, but it can also prevent ovulation and may prevent sperm from fertilizing an egg,” Brodman says.

Your partner can also try ella, which is effective up to 120 hours (5 days) after unprotected sex, but it's slightly more expensive and is typically only available via prescription, so it may be tough to find, says Brodman.

Lastly, your partner may want to consider getting a ParaGard, a copper IUD that is 99.9% effective at preventing pregnancy "when inserted within 120 hours (5 days) after the accident, but it must be inserted by an MD (typically a GYN),” she says.

It's important to note that most emergency contraceptives are more effective the sooner you take them, so be sure to have your partner make a trip to the pharmacy or call her doctor right away. (It's also worth noting that it's simply good etiquette to accompany her to the pharmacy or even offer to pay for it - yes, even if it's a one-night stand.)

4) If you're concerned about HIV exposure, consider taking PeP.

If you're worried about having been exposed to HIV, ask your doctor about PeP, or post-exposure prophylaxis (it's different from PrEP, or pre-exposure prophylaxis, which people must take consistently to prevent contracting HIV). When taken within 72 hours after HIV exposure, PeP is considerably effective (though not 100% effective) at preventing transmission, but you must take it once or twice daily for 28 days for it to work. Your doctor will help you determine if you're a good candidate.

5) Get tested for STIs.

Take a deep breath: in most cases, there's no need to rush to the nearest clinic the very next day, says Brodman: “[I] don’t want people to think they must be seen on a Saturday or Sunday morning when most offices are closed.”

That said, you should try to get an STI test within the next 3-4 days after exposure; it's also a good idea to go to your doctor or to a clinic instead of doing an at-home test, which can sometimes yield inaccurate results.

When you arrive at your doctor's office or at a clinic, the doctor or nurse will usually "assess your risk of infection," Brodman advises. Typically, you'll be asked to fill out a questionnaire about your sexual history and provide a urine test, as well as a blood test if you're testing for STIs like HIV, Hepatitis B and C, and syphilis. If you had unprotected oral or anal sex, your doctor might ask for a throat swab or a rectal swab.

For most STI tests, you'll have to wait a few days to a week for results. Some clinics, however, do offer rapid HIV testing, which can offer results in up to 20 minutes. But note that the incubation period for HIV is typically one to four weeks, so "it may take time for infection to show up on a blood test," says Brodman.

If you test positive, "get treated and inform your partner" immediately, she says. If your results come back negative, your health care provider will likely urge you to get a

6) Check your condoms.

To prevent a condom from breaking again in the future, it's important to make sure you're storing and putting on condoms correctly. Well-endowed? Maybe your condoms are a bit snug. If you’re on the smaller side, perhaps they’re too big. your condom should fit. “If too small, there is a higher risk of breaking; if too big, there is a risk it will come off,” Brodman explains. (Here are .)

You should also always make sure that your condoms aren't old or expired, as they tend to "degrade and weaken with time,” she says. If a condom is more than a few years old, you should probably toss it. Additionally, consider where you keep your condoms. If exposed to heat, they’ll break more easily, so don't keep them in a wallet in your sweaty back pocket. Instead, keep them in a cool place, like in a bedroom drawer, Brodman says.

7) Check your lube.

If you use lube, be careful about what type you use, as some can break down condoms. “Make sure you are using latex-compatible lube, such as water-based lube, with latex condoms," says Brodman. "Oils like vegetable oil, coconut oil, and petroleum jelly will weaken and damage condoms." If you use latex condoms, try Wicked Aqua Based Water Lubricant in Unscented ($9.65, buy it here)

8) Make sure you're putting the condom on correctly.

This might sound obvious, but you should always double-check to make sure you're using You should be leaving room at the tip and putting it on on the right side up, and don’t open the package with your teeth or unroll the condom before putting it on. Review the situation and figure out what went wrong, and next time, take your time putting it on.