Sexual behavior can be placed on a continuum ranging from chastity, vanilla sex, all the way to edgeplay on the opposite end of the spectrum. Edgeplay is perhaps what concerns me the most as an emergency medicine physician. It can be separated into two categories:
1. Edgeplay that poses an immediate risk of permanent harm or death.
2. Edgeplay that poses a delayed risk of permanent harm or death
The topic I am going to discuss first is the form that presents an immediate risk of permanent harm or death. In my career as an emergency medicine physician I have seen and treated examples of all the various forms of edgeplay mentioned below, with life altering consequences for the patient, and one death in the case of Breath play. In several cases, it resulted in a trip to the operating room, followed by a hospital stay. Examples of such play are:
- Breathplay - poses a risk of asphyxiation
- Castration - risk of hemorrhaging to death
- Gunplay - the risk of accidental discharge
- Penectomy - risk of hemorrhaging to death
- Knifeplay and Cutting
- Tongue splitting
- Fire play
The second category of Edgeplay deals with a delayed risk of permanent injury or death. Usually, in this case, patients present themselves to their primary care physician, or at the emergency room days or even years after engaging in dangerous sexual activity. It frequently presents itself in the form of an infection, or some form of functional impairment. Examples of this can include:
- Extreme piercing
- Urethral re-routes
- Amputations
- Scrotal suspension
These forms of edgeplay should never be part of any sane consensual BDSM scene - they are unsafe in any circumstance. Only persons with adequate medical training know the locations of major blood vessels, and how to control bleeding. Most individuals are also not trained on adequate sterilization techniques, making everything from bacterial infections to HIV in the realm of possibility.
Will there be any follow up articles, or will it stay with this one general one?
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