Pleasure toys enhance sexual health for adults. Women who are unable to orgasm during sexual intercourse can do so with vibrators. Men masturbate with them, and a prostate massager can improve the sexual health and sexual satisfaction of men.
The demand for pleasure toys has increased dramatically during the recent COVID-19 pandemic.
Why do people use pleasure toys?
Remember the passion you and your partner experienced when learning about each other’s body at the beginning of your relationship? If your sex life has become boring, you can add excitement with pleasure toys. They’re learning tools. They can be used to show your partner how to touch you in pleasurable ways.
It’s best to demonstrate how a vibrator can enhance pleasure. After all, most people are visual learners. Ultimately, adult toys can make good sex even better. They can also be used to treat symptoms of several sexual disorders, including erectile dysfunction, genital arousal disorder, and hypoactive sexual desire dis- order, which is characterized by the lack of sexual fantasies and desire for sex. Pleasure toys are the easiest or only way for 25 percent of sexually normal women to climax.
Antidepressants, antihistamines, and medications for cancer, blood pressure, and heart disease affect sexual function and satisfaction for women and men. That’s why boomers can benefit from using pleasure toys.
Transgender people are likely to experience gender dysphoria (GD), a feeling of distress that a mismatch exists between their gender identity, or sense of being male or female, and the biological sex assigned to them at birth. Nonbinary is a term used by individuals who view sexual orientation and/or gender identity as fluid. Transgender and nonbinary people use pleasure toys to affirm their gender identity.
Do pleasure toys help people enjoy sexual activity?
A vibrator can provide older people with the stimulation necessary to climax. In general, men and women can benefit from the use of pleasure toys. Women can use these toys for genital lubrication. Men can use dildos during sex play to reduce the pressure to maintain an erection. Sexual partners plan the use of pleasure toys together. Doing so makes sex more exciting and creates greater sexual intimacy.
What unexpected benefits do women and men gain from using pleasure toys?
Pleasure toys are helpful for enhancing sexual activity, satisfaction, and orgasm, as well as for improving sleep, relieving pain, healing wounds faster, strengthening the immune system, in- creasing brain power, decreasing stress, and reducing menopausal sweating during the night.
Do pleasure toys promote women’s sexual health?
Adult toy use is associated with behaviors that promote health and a positive sexuality. Women who use vibrators are more likely to schedule gynecological exams and perform a self-exam.1
How often do women orgasm during penile to vaginal sex (PIV)?
Based on 33 studies in Elizabeth Lloyd’s book, The Case of the Female Orgasm, only 25.3 percent of women consistently orgasm during intercourse. About 50 percent are sometimes orgasmic, 20 percent rarely have orgasms, and 5 percent never have orgasms.2 Vibrators are the only way that many women can climax.
Can pleasure toys treat women’s health conditions?
Adult toys are beneficial in treating menopausal and postmenopausal symptoms, as well as other health conditions.
Female sexual dysfunctions, including anorgasmia, arousal, and desire disorders, are treated with vibrators.3 Vaginal atrophy, pain in the vulva and vagina, and tightness result from vaginismus, vulvodynia, lichen sclerosis, gynae cancer treatments, and surgical procedures. Women who have multiple sclerosis experience less desire, reduced lubrication, and longer time to achieve orgasm with decreased pleasure.
How are these conditions defined?
Anorgasmia is the medical term used to describe regular difficulty having an orgasm after ample stimulation. Vaginal atrophy occurs frequently after menopause. In this condition, the vaginal walls thin, dry, and become inflamed when the body has less estrogen, making intercourse painful.
Vaginismus is caused by a muscle spasm in the pelvic floor muscles. This condition makes it painful or impossible to have penile-vaginal intercourse (PIV).
Vulvodynia is chronic pain in the vulva, the area outside a woman’s genitals. Among the symptoms are burning, stinging, and itching that can last more than three months. The cause is unknown.
Lichen sclerosis is patchy, white skin developing in the genital and anal areas. The skin appears thinner than normal. Post- menopausal women are at higher risk.
Gynae cancer treatments for gynecologic cancer are surgery, chemotherapy, and radiation. A gynecologic oncologist is trained to treat cancers in a woman’s reproductive system.
Which specific pleasure toys treat vaginal atrophy and tightness and pain in the vulva and vagina?
Many women favor slim vaginal vibrators over clinical dilators often prescribed by physicians. Dilators stretch the tissue of the vagina without pain. Vibrations increase blood circulation in the vaginal walls. Lubrication is increased and nerves are stimulated. Local anesthetic gels, medication, and psychological treatments complement the use of vaginal vibrators.
Do pleasure toys promote men’s sexual health?
Men’s sexual problems include erectile dysfunction, premature ejaculation, lack of libido, and post-surgery concerns. Specific pleasure toys can help resolve these health conditions.
Constriction rings help men keep their erections firm, and specially- designed vibrators help men with delayed ejaculation. In addition, men experience various sexual sensations when using penile sleeves for manual masturbation. There are also some vibrators and penile suction devices that help men attain and keep an erection and stimulate nerve endings. These devices can be purchased with or without a prescription. It’s helpful to get medical advice before using them.
Penile prostheses, usually referred to as strap-on harnesses, are typically used by women. The straps hold a dildo, a packer, or any pleasure toy against the body. Some harnesses may go around the thigh or can be worn as underwear or as jock straps. A male who cannot get an erection may use penile prostheses to have penile-vaginal intercourse (PIV).
Can pleasure toys treat men’s health conditions?
Cases of prostatitis, benign prostate hyperplasia (BPH), and prostate cancer can be reduced by massaging the prostate gland.4 Prostatitis is a swelling of the prostate gland. BPH is a common health condition that men experience as part of the aging process. In this condition, the prostate gland becomes enlarged, squeezing the urethra and limiting the flow of urine. A prostate massage helps reduce the risk of prostate cancer. The National Cancer Institute links regular ejaculation to a decreased risk for prostate cancer.5
Why is a prostate massage beneficial?
The prostatic duct connects the prostate gland to the urinary system, and semen is stored in the prostate gland. A prostate massage eliminates stagnant semen and bacterial growth in the duct and prevents swelling. It also improves circulation of seminal fluid and strengthens urine flow. A prostate massage ends painful ejaculations.34
Prostate massage therapy was the only treatment available be- fore antibiotics. Some men choose a prostate massage, foregoing medical interventions. It’s an effective procedure that relieves symptoms of an enlarged prostate. A prostate orgasm is a wonderful side benefit from a prostate massage. This type of orgasm is intense, pleasurable, and lengthy.
How should one prepare for a manual prostate massage?
Use warm water and soap to wash the external and internal areas of the anus. Insert a disposable bulb enema into the anus using warm water. Apply a good amount of lube before insertion. The anus is ready when water runs clear. Givers in anal sex should wash their hands for 20 seconds. Cut and trim the fingernails. Then clean the fingernails with a nail brush. Exert pressure on the perineum, the skin between the scrotum and the anus. Men who want more sensation, use a prostate massager.
What is the preparation for a prostate massage with an anal toy?
Use antibacterial soap to clean an anal toy. Cover the massager with a condom to be safe.Wash the anal passageway, following the instructions above to ensure cleanliness. Take a bath to relax. Apply additional lubricant on the anus and prostate massager. A water-based lube is compatible with prostate massagers made of silicone, TPR, TPE, or Cyberskin.
How is a prostate massager inserted into the anus?
It’s not uncomfortable if done correctly. Stimulate the anus and perineum before inserting the massager. Aim the curved tip of the toy at the naval area, slowly insert the toy into the anus, and move the toy gently to find the prostate (P-spot). Despite differences in height and weight, 98 percent of the prostate gland is two to three inches inside the anus.
Which positions are comfortable for insertion of a prostate massager?
Three positions are suggested for solo sex:
Lie on your back and bend and pull your legs to your chest. Place a small pad under your lower back.
Lie on your side and bend and pull one of your legs to your chest.
Crouch down and squat over the massager.
Assume the knee-elbow position with a partner.
What does a prostate orgasm feel like?
A prostate massage leads to an orgasm without ejaculation. If excited during the massage, the man can masturbate and a strong orgasm can happen, but it won’t be a prostate orgasm. The “male P-spot” provides orgasms three to ten times stronger than penile orgasms.6
Covid-19
Can pleasure toys transmit the coronavirus?
Clean pleasure toys thoroughly if sharing them within a 72-hour period. Wash your hands for 20 seconds. The new coronavirus (SARS-Cov-2) remains active on some surfaces for three days, although some recent studies refute this statement. Don’t use hand sanitizers on toys because the sanitizers can irritate the vagina or rectum.
Is it safe to buy new pleasure toys during the pandemic?
It may be safer to buy pleasure toys online than at adult brick- and-mortar stores. In e-commerce transactions, no one physically touches credit cards or cash, and pleasure toys are usually packaged in cardboard. The coronavirus can live on these toys for 24 hours, surviving up to three days on plastic and steel.
Recent research indicates that the coronavirus degrades on surfaces in a few hours. But, despite this new fact, it’s wise to be careful. Open the box or wait 24 hours. And, make sure you wash your hands for 20 seconds. Lab studies of the coronavirus on surfaces may not be relevant in your home.7
In large warehouses, employees might not follow social distancing guidelines or might work while ill if sick pay isn’t available.Websites might not be the best place to buy toys during a pandemic. A safe option is to buy adult pleasure toys at Target, CVS, Walmart, or at a small sex shop.
Should pleasure toys be shared with a partner who also has COVID-19?
Have solo sex. Sex partners who test positive for COVID-19 shouldn’t assume they’ve acquired immunity until 14 days have passed. Scientists also don’t know enough about reinfection. People may be infected but haven’t been tested.
Can my partner who has COVID-19 still have sex?
Don’t have sex with your partner if he or she is infected with COVID-19, even if asymptomatic. The World Health Organization (WHO) indicates that the risk of household transmission ranges from
- Herbenick, D., Reece, M., Sanders, S.T., Dodge, B., Ghassemi, A., & Fortenberry, J. D. (2010). Women’s vibrator use in sexual partnerships: Results from a nationally representative sur- vey in the United States. Journal of Sex and Marital Therapy, 36(1):49-65. doi: 10.1080/00926230903375677.
- Lloyd, E. A. (2005). The case of the female orgasm: Bias in the science of evolution. Cambridge, Massachusetts, London, England: Harvard University Press
- Herbenick, D., Reece, M., Sanders, S.T., Dodge, B., Ghassemi, A., & Fortenberry, J.D. (2009). Prevalence and characteristics of vibrator use by women in the United States: Results from a nationally representative study. Journal of Sexual Medicine, 6:1857-1866.http:doi.org/10.1111/j.1743-6109.2009.01318.x
- Silver, M. (2015, September 15). The benefits of prostate massages. Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved from https://www. smh.com.au/lifestyle/the-benefits-of-prostate-massages- 20150915-gjmla6.html
- Gottlieb, S. (2004). Frequent ejaculation may be linked to de- creased risk of prostate cancer. British Medical Journal, 328 (7444), 851. Retrieved from http://medcraveonline.com/ MOJT/MOJT-03-00065.pdf
- LELO (2015, October 21). Which countries and which US cities buy the most prostate massagers? [Web log comment]. Retrieved from https://www.lelo.com
- Gunter, J. (2020, April 5). Sex and the corona virus: closeness in dark days. New York Times. p.4