When it comes to choosing a sex toy, something you’ll want to be sure of is that it’s safe. Nothing can spoil your fun faster than finding out you’ve been using a potentially harmful device.
Thankfully, choosing safe sex toys for women is pretty easy. If you’re still a little unsure about how to find one that’s guaranteed to be risk-free, we’ve put together a handy little guide that shows you everything you need to be aware of.
With basic sex toys such as dildos, manufacturers use a few common materials such as rubber, plastic and metal.
Cheaper sex toys for women tend towards soft plastics. There’s a couple of problems with these, but they’re easy to deal with. Condoms are for more than just preventing unwanted pregnancy – they’re also one of the simplest ways to keep any sex toys used for penetration clean.
Firstly, these types of materials are capable of trapping dirt and bacteria within the surface. Even with regular cleaning it can be difficult to dislodge these particles, which can increase your risk of infections – especially if you also share the toy with someone else or use it for anal play.
The quickest way to avoid any issues arising from this is to simply use a condom. Combined with frequent cleaning, this will ensure that your sex toys remain clean and safe to use over and over again.
Sex toys for women made from harder materials like silicone and metal lack the porous qualities that are typical of soft plastic and jelly toys. Thoroughly cleaning all parts of these toys between use is enough to keep them safe, but like with any other sex toys you should also use condoms if you plan on sharing them or non-vaginal use.
Additionally, it’s worth keeping in mind that some plastics use chemicals that have been linked to health problems. These have been dropped by most sex toy manufacturers, so you’re unlikely to see them. Just look out for a notice on the packaging that clearly states that the product is from phthalates and you should be fine. Even those that do contain phthalates can be safely used when wrapped in a condom.
Sex toys for women such as vibrators can cause concern over whether it places you at risk of being electrocuted.
Generally speaking, there is absolutely nothing to fear in this regard. A few sex toys have been recalled over safety concerns in this manner in the past, but the amount of actual incidents is staggeringly low.
If you want to be absolutely sure that any sex toys that use power are safe, it’s often a very simple matter to check that there are no exposed wires. Even if you use a sex toy for a long period of time, the likelihood of injury is very low. If you do find exposed wires, don’t roll up your sleeves and fix it yourself. Throw it away and buy a new one. If you have warranty coverage, then you may even be able to get a brand new sex toy for free.
If you’re pregnant then it’s very natural to become worried about anything that goes near your vagina – including sex toys that you may not have thought twice about using in the past.
Once again, there’s very little reason to be concerned.
There are a number of scenarios in which sex toy for women should be avoided whilst pregnant. Firstly, any toys that contain phthalates should be wrapped with a condom or avoided completely as the chemical can be harmful to your baby, although this would require long and frequent sessions.
Secondly, a weak cervix or low lying placenta can make deep penetration from sex toys riskier. In this case, it is worth consulting your doctor for advice.
Generally speaking though, sex toys for women will have no impact on your pregnancy as long as you take care to keep them free from any bacteria that could cause an infection.
We hope that reading this will have given you a little piece of mind. Of course, if you’re still in any doubt about whether a specific sex toy is safe to use, it’s always best to ask!