Just because you mentioned the medical perspective...
Note: I'll be a little bit sarcastic (because I feel like and because I find sad that everytime somebody comes out with some good points which are not just "be spreadeagle on the bed that I am going to get your feet" he/she is systematically turned down... which I find, sorry, quite uneducated) but I'll try not to be too much flaming.
steph said:
This kind of behavior is risky at best and deadly at worst.
oh yeah... like driving while speaking at the cell phone, run down the stairs... with one difference... there are two hands attached to a body which is supposed to have a brain behind...
I remind you that we have a President who was choking himself with a peanut... now, does it make eating peanuts a risky or deadly behaviour?
Actually, living is so risky that everybody end up dying... go figure...
steph said:
I've dealt with my share of asphyxiated patients throughout the years (both at their own hands and at the hands of others.)
And how many of them got asphyxiated while engaging in consensual play?
steph said:
Consensual or not, the list of things that can POTENTIALLY go wrong here
Like when you tie up and tickle someone... (you mentioned asthma... number one concern when you tickle someone... claustrophobia... when you tie up someone... heart conditions... same...). Actually, vanilla sex might get you a heart attack... (and, for what it matters, even thinking about sex with some ugly person could cause you a heart attack...)
steph said:
Your "chokee" may have pre-existing conditions that you may not be aware of. SHE might not even be aware of them, until in a situation like this. Heart condition, claustrophobia, asthma attacks just to name a few. And, a lot of people during play of any kind might involuntarily jerk big time, simply as reflex~it doesn't take much pressure to injure this area, even if you're trying to act gently.
OK, too many movies and Star Trek fans with the magic touch of Dr Spoke...
1. choking someone to serious condition is not something that happens easily or in few minutes. Get any book of Legal Medicine and you'll find that asphyxiation through strangulation is less easy to achieve than you might think. Little degression: people that are sentenced to death through hanging die because their neck gets broken: so if someone is thinking to that as an example of "fast chocking" s/he is out of track.
2. "choking" as any other form of play does not mean that your are squeezing someone's throat to death... as "spanking" does not mean that you beat up the crap of someone. If you don't get the difference go to any BDSM community and get an education. Then come back and speak up.
3. asphyxiation is, indeed, edge play. Should not be done randomly or with someone who's not well known. That would prevent undisclosed but known pre-existing conditions.
4. If a condition is unknown it can come up in any situation without demonizing a specific activity just because it "tickles" you in the bad way (pun intended). Without considering that unknown pre-existing conditions that might be fatal due to a short term breath control are not too frequent (doesn't mean it can not happen... I remember of a scholar case of electrocution through a tube of a vacuum cleaner stuck in someone's ass... but that's another story...) , if you are REALLY concerned about possible emergencies arising while playing, think about them in advance, get educated about them (what is real and what is fantasy and what to do) and get a safety kit at hand. People DO that... it is education and common sense. Don't you keep a first-aid kit in the house because you might need a band-aid if you use knives in the kitchen? So, if you are really into edge play (which is, btw, not exactely what Viper was talking about...), get a kit with the needs for emergency situations... people, when you play with ropes don't you have a knife close to you for fast release? It's the same common sense...
Again, education can help... know about risks of hypoxia, hyperventilation (after the choking is done), signs and symptoms that are related and that should clearly be avoided, etc. Which points should not be compressed at all, which ones can be pressed for a short period of time, etc. All very important things. Also, trying to learn what the "turn on" is due to (hard to believe, maybe, and long to dig into right now, but it could be just a little of hypoxia that makes an orgasm feel stronger...) You learn the rules and then you play, and you are safe and happy.
steph said:
Maybe I'm just getting old but somehow this isn't the kind of thing a wise person wants on their resume...to be a punchline at some random party..."Oh, you DO know who I'm talking about! Remember that guy, the one who killed that girl during sex?" "Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhh, yeah, THAT guy..."
You crack me... that IS indeed funny... is that the real meaning of the term "sexed out"
🙂
steph said:
I'm just saying be careful, this is very dangerous territory...
XOXO
I'm 100% with you on that. That's why I don't do it
😉
Hope my bad humor is not going to cause heartburns and ulcers to anyone!
