SAFER SM: Practical Guidelines and Advice on AIDS Prevention within SM play

[peaceful_soul]

HIV Transmission
HIV (the virus that can lead to AIDS) can be avoided if taken precaution. How does one get HIV? Basically, HIV goes from one person’s body into another, and then makes its way into your bloodstream thus infecting the victim.


A-1: How To Avoid Getting Infected

WARNING - The following fluids ARE NOT safe to transfer with a carrier of HIV, and SHOULD BE AVOIDED AT ALL COST

Blood
Semen (cum)
Vaginal secretions (cunt juice)


The following fluids ARE safe to transfer with a carrier of HIV, but SHOULD still be avoided if possible.

saliva (spit)
Perspiration (sweat)
Urine (piss) or fæces (shit) on the outside of the body



A-2: s/M Risk Reduction

Most s/M activities have always been low-risk for getting HIV (Human Immunodeficiency Virus). Responsible participants in the lifestlyhas always been about practising safety.

For more information on how to keep actives safe, consider reading the following - Safe Edge: A Manual for SM play by Trevor Jacques, et al, Lesbian SM Safety Manual by Pat Califia; SM 101 by Jay Wiseman; or Screw the Roses, Send me the Thorns by Molly Devon and Phillip Miller.

For general information on STD's and AIDS can be found available at most Community Health Centres, doctor’s offices/clinics or community AIDS organizations.


Tip
Always remember to use common sense. Ensure that first-aid items are readily at hand. By remembering these basics, you can make any kind of sex safer.








SAFE WORDS

Use the etiquette of SM. It’s really just a matter of respecting the person(s) with whom you’re playing. You should agree upon a safety word and what you want to do in a scene before you start the scene. A safety word (or motion) is used by any partner to stop the scene immediately, no questions asked. There is no shame in using the safety word. It’s there for both of you. You should respect it and your partner’s limits and feelings at all times.

Always consider your partner(s). Discuss interests, pleasures, perceived needs etc. If you are unsure of a certain sexual or SM activity, then hold off until you’re familiar with the safety aspects of it. Find out as much as you can beforehand, so you can make a decision about how and/or when to proceed.










LUBRICANTS

Lubricants (lubes) can be lots of fun, whether used for play or insertion. Flavoured brands can be used externally or for oral sex.
If you’re going to insert something into someone, you should only use a water-based unscented brand - like K-Y, Lubafax, Muco, Safer Sex lube, Astroglide, or Wet. Never use oil-based lubes (like Vaseline or Crisco); they weaken latex condoms and gloves, making them more likely to break.

Also, during a scene, you shouldn’t take lube from a large container. Either buy small portions and throw the packets away afterwards or put enough lube for this play time into something disposable (like a paper cup or plate). Some brands come in pump jars. This makes sure that nobody’s "dirty" hand, penis, or whatever can get into your personal supply of lube.









YOUR RECTUM/PROPERLY USING A CONDOM

D-1: PROTECTING YOUR RECTUM
The rectum (ass) is more delicate than most parts of your body and you should take care of it. Sticking things up your rectum - whether it’s a finger, cock, dildo, fist, or anything else - can tear the rectal lining. Even extremely tiny tears can open up the body and be places where HIV can get in. Fucking without protection is a high-risk activity, since a penis ejaculates semen (cums). A penis also has a pee hole in the end, which can let viruses in. Always use a latex condom, and use it properly.

If you finger a rectum, be careful not to finger it if you have a cut or sore on your finger or if you have long/sharp nails. You could also use a latex glove when fingering. As for dildos, make sure they’ve been cleaned before they go up your rectum (see the section on cleaning toys).

D-2: USING A CONDOM
To put on a condom: first make sure the penis is erect. If it’s uncircumcised, pull back the foreskin before putting on the condom. Squeeze the air out of the tip. If the condom is round- ended and doesn’t have a tip, squeeze the air out and leave 1 cm free at the tip of the penis.

Lubricate the outside of the condom really well with a water-based lube (like K-Y, Muco, Wet, Safer Sex Lube, or Astroglide). Never use oil-based lube (like Crisco or Vaseline); it can damage condoms. Pull out soon after you come, grabbing the base of the penis to make sure the condom doesn’t slip off.

TIP To be extra careful, you can start fucking with a condom, and then pull out before you come - you can then cum on the chest, thighs, hand, or whatever.









DOUCHING/ENEMAS

If fisting, fucking, or dildos are part of your sexual activity, some people feel it is very important to have a clean ass or vagina. But douching, or using enemas before getting fucked, could leave you more open to infection. They can wash away the surface mucous that’s there to protect you.
Never share your douche bag. Clean your douche bag each time you use it. Also, don’t share the nozzles of metal shower douches. Get a separate nozzle for each friend, label it, and clean it between uses (see the section on cleaning toys). Douching or enemas should not be used after sex because they don’t necessarily wash things away - they can also push infected semen, blood or fæces further into the body. Infections and bacteria douched up into a woman’s uterus and fallopian tubes can cause Pelvic Inflammatory Disease (PID) - which could lead to infertility, or worse.









YOUR VAGINA

Successful play with your vagina (cunt) depends on paying attention to detail, because a great variation of sensations occurs over very small areas.
It’s easy to bruise, cut, or tear your vagina, so you should take the same care to protect it whenever anything goes into it. The inner parts of the vagina are mucous membranes, so a good rule is to make sure that your play is less aggressive here. Anything inserted into the vagina should be properly washed and have no sharp edges.

Your vagina can be damaged in other ways too -- you can: bruise or scrape the cervix, which is located about 10 cm inside the vagina (the exact position varies from woman to woman); tear the skin between the vagina and the rectum; bruise the tissue between the pubic bones; or cut and scrape around the pee hole. All of these can open up your body to HIV - or other STDs - making vaginal intercourse without a condom a high risk activity.

Vaginal play depends on moving slowly to generate fairly symmetrical sensations, and remembering that the border between pleasure and pain here is razor thin. So get to know the size and shape of your partner’s vagina, and remember that it changes shape depending on where she is in her menstrual cycle, and how excited she gets.

TIP A good rule of thumb is that too much lubricant is not enough. If you don’t use enough, you may cause tears and rips, or a mechanically induced vaginitis.









TOYS

G-1: NOT SHARING IS CARING
When you were growing up, your mother probably told you to share your toys. Well, for sex toys, forget it! Anything that goes into a person’s rectum and/or vagina could transmit HIV or other STDs, if it’s shared. Any toy that draws blood can also be a risk.

If you’re a bottom, the best idea would be to have your own toys and get your top to use them on you. If you’re a top, ask the bottom what toys he or she owns. Or, if having sex with various bottoms, you should assign and mark toys only for them.

For example, if you spank someone with a sturdy wire brush, you’re going to draw blood. So, tape the bottom’s name onto the back of the brush - maybe even tape the brush to the bottom’s leg - but don’t use it on anyone else. The same applies to dildos, butt plugs, etc.


G-2: Cleaning Your Toys
You’ll need these things to clean your toys:

• soap and hot water

• one part household bleach to nine parts water

• 10% hydrogen peroxide solution

WHAT IF?
What if you use a toy on someone and you don’t mean to draw blood - but you do? You don’t have to throw away your toy. Wash it in soap and hot water, let it soak for 20 minutes in the bleach solution, rinse it in hot, clean water and then let it dry thoroughly (preferably overnight) before using it again. The same goes for douche nozzles.

CLEANING LEATHER
Leather toys are a bit different: To clean a leather toy (like a whip, flogger or leather dildo), first wash the tips or ends with a strong foaming cleaner using a hard bristle brush to get at nooks and crannies in the leather, then spray the tips or ends with hydrogen peroxide, wipe away the excess with paper towels, and let them air dry for at least a few hours (preferably overnight) before using them. Cleaning dries out leather very quickly, so your toy should be treated with an acceptable leather conditioner immediately after it has dried, or it will become brittle and crack.

READ ME
It may sound complicated, but it isn’t really; just make sure any toy with semen, blood, or fæces on it, or anything that’s been in someone’s rectum or vagina is cleaned. Make sure you get any bleach or soap off the toy, by flushing it with clean water. Remember, uncleaned toys can transmit STDs - which could affect your whole immune system.









WATERSPORTS

▼▼▼IMPORTANT TO READ▼▼▼
Both urine and fæces are fine on the outside of the body. Urine in your mouth is a very low-risk activity for getting HIV, but with an infected bladder there is a high risk of catching other STDs. If you take fæces in your mouth, there is also the possibility of catching parasites or other STDs . Never brush your teeth or tongue just before playing, wait at least 3 to 4 hours; and never play when you have cold sores, cankers, or cuts in your mouth. If there are any cuts on the outside of the skin, don’t urinate (piss) or defecate (shit) near the cut(s). Remember that a pimple (zit) is also a cut.









FISTING

H-1: Understand Before Fisting
Fists are big things. They can create more serious tears in the rectum or vagina than most sexual activities. If you get fisted, you’re going to have to treat your rectum and/or vagina very, very carefully. Immediately after you’ve been fisted never let anything else (a penis, dirty dildo, or a finger with semen, fæces, or blood on it) into your rectum or vagina that might be carrying HIV or other STDs.

H-2: Fisting Carefully
If you are going to fist, wear latex gloves. They protect both the top and the bottom. Surgical gloves are the best. They usually go part of the way up the arm and are good for most fistings. If you are going to be fisting deeply, use a calving glove. You can buy them at veterinarian supply stores. Calving gloves can bunch up, though, and the wrinkles can cut the lining of the rectum or vagina. To avoid this, cut the finger and thumb sections off the calving glove to leave the glove covering the palm of your hand, including the base of the thumb. Then put a surgical glove over the calving glove.

Don’t fist if your fingernails are long. Cut them and smooth them down with an emery board, since they can tear the fisting glove or the bottom’s rectum or vagina. If you have an open wound or hangnails on your hand(s), don’t fist with that hand even with the precaution of gloves.

Be sure the glove stays well lubed while you’re using it (see the section on lubricants). When pulling out (as with condoms), make sure to grab the open end of the glove so that it doesn’t slip off.









RIMMING

Rimming (licking someone’s rectal opening) is very low risk for becoming infected with HIV, but high risk for the transmission of other STDs (like herpes, anal warts, hepatitis A) as well as parasites. If you want to rim, use a condom cut length wise to form a sheet of latex, or use a latex barrier like a dental dam (which is more difficult to find). Never brush your teeth or tongue just before your sexual play, wait at least 3 or 4 hours.
Rimming can be very enjoyable for your partner but always take precautions to ensure your own safety -- avoid leaving yourself open to STDs.








PERMANENT/NON-PERMANENT MARKINGS

J-1: Piercings
If you want to have a permanent piercing, make sure the rings or bars are new and sterile. Have it done by a professional piercer. If a temporary piercing is part of a scene, make sure you use sterile, disposable needles. Soak them in alcohol first. Use them once -- only once -- on one person. Then dispose of them safely. (See the section on cleaning needles, and disposing needles under Drugs and Alcohol).

J-2: Heat Branding/Knife Play
As for branding, heat-branding is safe because of the high temperatures involved (heat kills HIV). Knife-branding should only be done with a knife that’s been soaked in bleach for twenty minutes and then rinsed with water. Better yet, you can use a sterile scalpel with a disposable blade (scalpels can be bought at medical supply stores). Use it once, put it in a strong narrow-necked plastic container, put the lid back on, and throw it in the garbage.

J-3: CLEANING
For piercing, branding, or shaving, any drops of blood should be wiped away with sterile cotton balls. Soak the cotton ball in rubbing alcohol. You can also buy pre-soaked separately wrapped cotton balls called "alcohol preps" or "alcohol rub". After use, put it in a plastic bag, tie up the bag, and put it in the garbage.

a-1: To clean your needle and syringe properly

1. Fill the syringe completely with sterile water, shake it, and squirt it out.
2. Fill the syringe with full strength bleach and squirt a little out. Leave the rest in for 30 seconds, then squirt it out.
3. Repeat step 2.
4. Fill the syringe with sterile water, shake it and squirt it out.
5. Repeat step 4 twice more.

a-2: To dispose of your needle and syringe properly
Once a needle or scalpel is used, make sure the cap is put back on and the whole thing is placed in a strong, narrow-necked plastic container (with its lid on) before disposal, so no one handling your garbage gets pricked. You can also use a "sharps" container (see your local needle exchange).










WHIPPING
If there’s no break in the skin during whipping or flogging, then it’s no problem at all. Depending on the material that the whip, quirt, or cat-o’-nine-tails is made of and the way it is used, it can draw blood if the skin is broken.
During a flogging or whipping scene, wipe up the blood the same way as you would for piercing or branding, and always clean your flogger/whips (see the section on cleaning toys).

When in a more public forum, you should avoid breaking the skin, as blood can be flicked from the flogger/whip during the return of the stroke.










DRUGS AND ALCOHOL

L-1: DON'T BE STUPID
If you’re into SM, you have to keep your wits about you. Mind-altering drugs - like tranquilizers, uppers, or hallucinogens - are NOT recommended. If you use them, you’ll be more likely to make mistakes. Alcohol can have the same effect. Too much drugs or alcohol can lead to unsafe activities. As for "poppers", they make your blood vessels bigger. This may increase your risk of infection with HIV if you’re getting fucked. Poppers are also hard on your heart and immune system.









Electricity

Electrical equipment (like the "Relax-A-Cisor" machine or "Violet Wand") probably won’t break skin, so there’s not much risk for getting HIV from it. If it does break skin, wipe up any blood with disposable, sterile cotton balls soaked in hydrogen peroxide, and cover the broken skin with a bandage. Since flexible, sticky electrical contacts pick up dirt from the skin, use them on one person only. There is no way to clean them. Only use electric charges below the belly button - you don’t want the charge to affect the heart or the brain’s own electric system.

Original source can be found here

[TheOutsider]

Thanks for the repost, I'm sure this is helpful for a lot of people.

[Hollyann]

Very nice post and if you are using needle and you lack a sharps container you can use a laundry detergent bottle because that is a very strong plastic like a sharps container.

[vulcan]

Very good post and sound advice, thank you.

however may I add one proviso. I don't know about garbage collections elsewhere, but here in the UK, the compacter in the garbage truck can easily break open plastic containers that may have sharp items in. The only recommended way to dispose of needles and blades is in a is in a proper sharps container, disposed of according to the regulations governing such items.