Vibrators and Your Health: Are Vibrators Bad for You?

There's nothing quite like a good climax — especially if you can have several in one session. Vibrators have long cemented themselves as one of the ultimate sex toys for multiple orgasms, but they may be potentially dangerous to your health if you don't choose the right one. So it's essential to know how to choose safer sex toys to enjoy your Big O without worry.

This article will cover what to avoid when buying a vibrator for a safe and pleasurable experience. Then we'll answer some common questions about vibrators and your health and give you a few tips on what to look for when you're shopping for your next vibrator.

How To Choose Safer Sex Toys

Using a variety of sex toys simultaneously is an intensely pleasurable way to induce multiple potent orgasms.

For example, you can reach your first orgasm with a vibrator on your clitoris, then switch to penetration with a dildo for a deeper, more intense orgasm. You can even insert an anal plug and use it with your vibrator or dildo for an intensified sensation that'll have your toes curling with pleasure.

There are some other great tips to achieve multiple orgasms, including:

1. Make sure you're relaxed and not forcing an orgasm.
   
   
2. Keep yourself aroused with sexy music, erotica, or porn.
   
   
3. Try different stimulation, such as playing with your breasts and nipples or caressing your erogenous zones.
   
   
4. Do Kegels in between orgasmic contractions to induce another orgasm.
   
   
5. Move between different positions in between orgasms.
   
   
6. Use sex toys to act out role-play fantasies and stimulate various body areas.

So are you wondering if these sex toys are bad for you?

The simple answer is that they can be if you don't choose wisely. Thankfully, some simple ways ensure you're picking safer sex toys. 

Invest in High-Quality Toys

Trying to save money upfront can cost you your health in the long run. 

Many cheap toys are made overseas in factories without rigid production standards. These knockoff toys are usually made of low-quality materials with toxic ingredients.

Furthermore, no regulatory body oversees sex toy production standards. So there's no telling what you're sticking in the most sensitive part of your body. 

You also want to avoid products marketed as gag gifts or novelty toys. Production companies use these titles to skirt safety regulations and keep creating sex toys made of poor-quality materials.

You should invest in luxury sex toys from a reputable manufacturer instead. This ensures that the toys are:

• Safe
• Made of high-quality materials
• Explicitly designed for intimate use 

Avoid Cheap Materials

Many sex toys are made of cheap materials like PVC, which are full of toxic chemicals, such as:

• Phthalates
• Parabens
• Melamine
• Bisphenol A
• Nitrosamines
• BPA

These chemicals cause various health conditions, including heart disease, diabetes, infertility, and even ovarian and breast cancer. 

Read: The Link Between Cheap Vibrators and Ovarian Cancer

Sex toys incredibly soft, flexible, or transparent often include these chemicals, so avoid them in favor of better materials. 

Read: The Importance of Breast Health

Pay Attention to the Smell

Have you ever noticed a toy has a strong chemical smell when you take it out of the package or wash it?

If so, it wasn't safe.

This process is called outgassing, when a material releases a gas that was trapped, dissolved, or absorbed in it. Your vibrator could release dangerous chemicals even during use, so it's best to avoid these vibrators. 

If you end up using one, put a condom over it before using it on yourself to prevent the chemicals from entering your body.

Are Vibrators Bad for You?

Now that we've discussed some ways you can choose safer sex toys, it's time to dispel some common myths surrounding the main star of the show — vibrators. 

Do you wonder if vibrators can be harmful to your health?

To answer that question, let's address four common questions about vibrators:

1. Can vibrators cause yeast infections?
2. Do vibrators cause loss of sensitivity?
3. Can vibrators pass STIs?
4. Can you use a vibrator while on your period?

Can Vibrators Cause Yeast Infections?

You may be concerned that your vibrator can cause yeast infections, and with good reason. No one wants to deal with a disease just because they want a few orgasms. So is there a link between the two?

But, yes, vibrators can cause yeast infections. There are a couple of ways they do so.

If your vibrator is made of a porous material, the surface contains microscopic nooks and crannies that can easily harbor harmful microorganisms like the fungi that cause yeast infections. So you may be unable to clean it adequately, no matter what you do.

But it may not be the fault of the vibrator itself, especially if it's made of a nonporous material. Yeast infections typically happen because of improper vibrator care and cleaning.

Read: How to Properly clean your Vibrator?

When you don't clean your vibrator correctly between each use, you increase the number of harmful fungi on it, whether they are from you or your partner.

Since people commonly use vibrators on their genitals — which are lined by mucous membranes — it is much easier to introduce these bacteria into your body. They quickly spread and upset your pH balance, leading to a yeast infection.

So you must ensure your vibrator is clean right after using it, no matter how much of a mood-killer it is. It would help if you also cleaned it before each use to ensure there are no other irritating substances like dirt, lint, or dust on it that could upset your pH balance. 

Storing it in a designated pouch designed for sex toys can also go a long way toward protecting it from irritating materials.

Do Vibrators Cause Loss of Sensitivity?

You may be concerned that you'll lose sensitivity and not be able to enjoy orgasms if you use vibrators regularly. But there's nothing to worry about.

No scientific evidence exists to prove that vibrators directly cause a loss of sensitivity. However, how often you use them may cause a temporary loss of sensitivity. The phrase "too much of a good thing" would apply here.

Such a loss is often the result of overstimulation, which is when you:

• Regularly apply too much pressure while using your vibrator
• Excessively use a high-powered vibrator daily for an extended time
• Use the same vibrator on the same setting during each session

Even if you experience short-term desensitization due to overstimulation, taking a break from the toy — or having some major fun trying different ones — usually

Can Vibrators Pass STIs?

Nobody wants to imagine the horror of catching or transmitting a sexually transmitted infection (STI) through our sex toys. But vibrators can pass STIs if you share them with a partner or between partners. 

They may pass on a variety of infections, including:

• Syphilis
• Chlamydia
• Bacterial vaginosis
• Herpes
• Shigella

If you or your partner have any unsafe toys that draw blood or have any cuts or sores around the genital area, your vibrator may pass on blood-borne infections, such as:

• Hepatitis B
• Hepatitis C
• HIV/AIDS

But you don't have to be too scared. Like yeast infections, STIs mainly occur because of vibrators made of porous materials or if you don't properly clean them before and after each use.

Proper care goes a long way toward preventing the passing of STIs. You can also cover penetrative vibrators with a new condom before each use and when you switch them between you and your partner.

Read: Why You Should Try A Double Penetration Orgasm

Can You Use A Vibrator While On Your Period?

You can use a vibrator while on your period!

This question boils down to personal preference.

You may not even be interested in anything sexual when on your period. If that sounds like you, you wouldn't want to use one. But if you tend to feel more enthusiastic or sensitive before or during your period, you can use a vibrator to take the edge off.

There are numerous benefits of orgasming on your period, including:

• Increased pleasure: Increased blood circulation and blood flow.
  
  
• Improved mood: The release of feel-good endorphins like dopamine and serotonin.
  
  
• Stress relief: Lowered cortisol levels.
  
  
• Decreased menstrual symptoms and improved sleep: The release of hormones like oxytocin and prolactin.

So it's okay if you want to use a vibrator to get off as many times as you want during your period. Your body may even thank you!

If you want to have sexy fun with vibrators alone or with your partner, you can use a tampon or menstrual cup and focus solely on clitoral stimulation. If you prefer penetration, you can use a waterproof vibrator in the shower or put a towel down before you start the fun.

What To Look For When Buying a Vibrator

Pay attention to several things if you want to enjoy multiple orgasms using a vibrator.

Safe Materials

Instead of choosing a vibrator made of materials with harmful chemicals like PVC, look for safe fabrics. They should be medical or food-grade material that is safe for personal use, nonporous and hypoallergenic.

These include:

• Surgical steel
• Sealed ceramic plastics
• Medical-grade plastics
• Porcelain
• Soda-lime glass
• Borosilicate glass
• Medical-grade silicone

These materials have different textures, so you can choose which feels best. For example, you may prefer the softer and more malleable feel of medical-grade plastics or need the hardness that porcelain or glass gives you to get off.

The Appropriate Type of Vibrator

Vibrators aren't a one-type-fit-all toy.

Several different kinds offer varying sensations, so you want to decide what type of stimulation you want before you begin your search.

For example, do you prefer to orgasm from solid clitoral stimulation?

A more petite bullet vibrator or finger massager may have you screaming with pleasure.

Do you want something that distributes the vibrations to your clit and your vulva?

You would love a wand vibrator.

Maybe you're looking for something that can give you clitoral and penetrative stimulation at the same time. A rabbit vibrator/dildo combo is the perfect toy to get those mind-blowing, leg-shaking orgasms you're looking for.

Or maybe you don't want vibrations at all and prefer suction. A powerful clit sucker will take you over the edge multiple times — especially if it has different settings.

No matter what floats your boat, knowing exactly what it takes to get you off can help you choose the best vibrator for you in no time.

The Intensity Settings

The number and strength of the vibrator's intensity settings are other essential factors to consider. Nothing's worse than getting a toy that doesn't have enough rumble to get you off, or that's so powerful it causes more pain than pleasure.

Vibrators have many different settings, ranging from soft pulses to intense rumbles to powerful buzzes that have you coming in seconds. You may even find toys that have all three in one!

So make sure you know your sensitivity level. Then you can choose which toy is best for you.