Sharing Sex Toys With Your Partner: Is It Worth Trying Out?

Have you ever thought about sharing sex toys with your partner? It can often be something that is debated back and forth between partners in a civil way. Some couples are okay with it, while others choose not to.

If you’re wondering what to consider, this mini guide has your back.

Happy reading!

Health Risks of Sharing Sex Toys

There are some reservations about sharing sex toys that may stop some individuals from lending their special toys to their partner/s.

1 Your health is at risk.

And by health, we’re talking reproductive to urinary health, wherein STIs and UTIs are also possible to contract from sharing sex toys. Especially uncleaned and unprotected ones because the discharges left behind hold bacteria that may hold an infection.

Getting a yeast infection for vulva owners is also possible when unsafely sharing sex toys. Moreover, this study shows that 25% of women had gotten bacterial vaginosis due to inconsistent or never cleaning a used sex toy.

2 Your (or their) sex toys aren’t made of safe materials.

Non-porous, body-safe, and approved by recognized sex shops. Those are the traits you look out for when hunting for sex toys.

If the sex toys you own oppose any of the traits above, you’re more prone to interacting with bacteria and having a difficult time cleaning sex toys. In fact, it’s even possible for them not to be clean no matter how hard you scrub.

Some safe materials you should look for in a sex toy are medical-grade silicone, borosilicate glass, and stainless steel.

3 You can get an allergic reaction.

It’s possible that by sharing a sex toy, there’s one (or two) from them wherein the material irritates your body. As a result, your body reacts negatively to it.

Is Sharing Really Worth Caring?

There’s really no right or wrong answer on whether or not sharing is worth a try. Although, it’s given that each risk behind it has a solution that combats it. Moreover, it’s also a preference-related question, wherein you decide whether you’re open and comfortable with doing it with your partner.

Some choose to share to save financially, only spending on condoms. They may also share to enhance their intimacy towards one another, wherein sharing is truly caring. Exploring sex toys as a whole and adding some variety into their lives are other reasons behind sharing sex toys.

As for those who don’t share sex toys, that could be because they don’t want to compromise their health. Others may not be into that and would rather keep their sex toys as their own private property.

Tips on How to Safely Share Sex Toys

Engage in this activity with the precautions below.

1 Build good communication with one another.

It’s important to talk about your boundaries and risks when considering sharing sex toys. Learn about the aspects they are comfortable with and what they’re unwilling to negotiate. For example, using barrier protection is non-negotiable.

2 Clean and sanitize them.

This tip is applicable before and after using the sex toy. Even a few minutes of your time can immediately impact your overall health and lifestyle. Using warm water and soap is a common cleaning combination for cleaning sex toys. Sex toy cleaners are also possible to aid your cleaning process.

If you borrowed a toy, doing this tip is an act of respect and decency.

3 Give those newly washed toys a day before using them.

Do you wear freshly washed clothes right away? No, because they’re wet.

The same can be said with freshly cleaned sex toys, except you need to dry them first to further remove any traces of discharges. 

4 Use barrier methods of protection.

We mentioned this earlier, but let’s emphasize it more. Such measures are the only way to prevent any STI from entering and affecting your body. May it be for solo pleasure or sharing it with someone, wrapping your sex toy with a condom can decrease so many health risks and lets you focus more on the fun side of it.

5 Get tested regularly.

Even with sharing toys, doing it regularly means getting tested and seeing where your vitals are regularly. Because again, it is very much possible to get an STI without the usual penetration as bacteria can still linger around a used sex toy.

6 Minimize your sexual partners.

If you’re sexually active, you may want to keep a quota on who you’re sleeping with. That’s because it’ll track their sexual histories, even mistaking one’s past with another’s. Plus, you’re less at risk of contracting STIs. The lesser, the better.

7 Maximize non-insertable sex toys.

Sex toys that reservations regarding sharing are penetration-related toys, specifically catering to vaginal and anal penetration. Those are the ones you need to keep a closer eye on. 

However, there are also the external-focused sex toys. Clit suckers, nipple clamps, handcuffs, you name it. Those toys please your external erogenous zones with varying sensations that don’t involve being inserted into your body. They’re more likely to hover around, clamp, pinch, and even cause an impact on your targeted body part. Mind you, these sensations are only the tip of the iceberg.

Moreover, let this tip allow you to explore all sorts of sex toys and give you more peace of mind, especially when no insertion is involved. Plus, it comes to show that sexual pleasure goes beyond any means of penetration.

Takeaway

Sharing sex toys with your partner is a preference, wherein some may be open to it while others would choose to refuse it. At the end of the day, safety is the most important thing to prioritize. So using barrier methods of protection and cleaning before and after usage are crucial to the user.

For more sex toy-related guides, check out the Lauvblog here!