Understanding Auto-erotic Asphyxiation

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How far would you go to experience the ultimate sexual arousal and/or release? For some, the answer is death - even if that was not their intention. Auto-erotic asphyxiation is the practice in which someone restricts oxygen to the brain and then engages in masturbation or other sexual activities. 

Often through the means of hanging, plastic bags, and/or chemical substances, the lack of oxygen to the brain can provide someone with a “euphoric, dizzying high” before they possibly lose consciousness. It's most commonly done by single men, but some couples, also, try to incorporate it into their BDSM play with the purpose of enhancing sexual arousal and heightening orgasm through the “high” that can come from this lack of oxygen.

Unlike other taboo sexual behaviors, auto-erotic asphyxiation has not been as thoroughly researched, making it hard to know just how common it is. This also means there is a significant lack of knowledge and resources when it comes to understanding it and how to do it safely. For these reasons, there is not a doctor recommended way to practice it and sex researchers have also expressed against trying it.

Unfortunately, for those who engage in auto-erotic asphyxiation, too often, the results have ended in accidental death because they couldn’t or didn’t know how to stop. Some research has shown that the longer a person practices it, the more comfortable they begin to feel with it and think it’s not as dangerous of an activity. Although death is a worst case scenario, auto-erotic asphyxiation can also cause permanent damage over time or trigger a heart attack.

While some sexual fantasies can benefit from being taken out of the mind and turned into a real life experience, auto-erotic asphyxiation is far too dangerous an activity with too little information known about it and its effects. For your health and safety, some things are better left to the imagination.

Resources used:

• https://www.livescience.com/21794-autoerotic-deaths-accidental-asphyxiation.html 
• https://www.medicinenet.com/script/main/art.asp?articlekey=51776 
• https://www.idsnews.com/article/2018/01/entkinsey012218