You can avoid infections by:
● Keeping your sex toys clean by washing them with soap and water and using special cleaners that are available at adult novelty shops to kill STDs and blood-borne diseases.
● Covering penetrative sex toys, such as vibrators, with a new condom every time, especially if you are sharing them with a partner
● Not sharing sex toys or having a different set of sex toys for each partner
● Checking sex toys regularly for any scratches or breaks in the surface material, where germs could be present and spread because this can increase your risk of infection.
● Washing sex toys between uses and after using them on different parts of the body.
Sex Toys May Cause Infertility
Knowing what your device is made of is important as well. Many toys are made in China, where safety regulations and restrictions are much more lax, and many toys are made of plastics, such as PVCs, which contain phthalates. These substances are suspected hormone disruptors and may cause kidney, liver and other organ damage in high levels.
Many countries have banned phthalates in certain products, including children’s toys, because of their demonstrated dangers, but there is little research still on how these chemicals may affect our bodies during adult playtime. Some manufacturers are moving away from using these types of materials because of theoretical concerns about risks. The Swedish government is now investigating the effects of these hormone-disrupting chemicals.
The effects are of these chemicals in the amounts that are found in sex toys on the reproductive system is still unknown, but researchers encourage you to take the following steps to minimize exposure until research better outlines our true risks:
● Look for toys labeled “phthalate-free.”