You’re viewing a part of RED, the Risk Evaluation Database. Please visit the main page for more information or to see the complete index.
All the risks below are possibilities of the listed activity. They are listed in no particular order. Please do not consider it to be exhaustive or use it as your sole determining factor when it comes to your safety. Some risk possibilities must nearly always be considered; a few of these can be found in the second tab below. Additionally, please note that the list below does not account for acts of intentional malice or for every complicating medical condition. Possible mitigation strategies or more information sometimes appear under risks when given. These should not be considered solutions that bring a risk to 0%, nor should they be considered the only possible solutions or information. Likewise, lack of a mitigation strategy or research being listed does not mean none exists.
Infection and biohazard risk, including of STIs
Possible mitigation strategies: gloves, autoclave sterilization, baking in the case of barbed wire
Blood poisoning or infections such as MRSA (for either party, if any broken skin on top)
Possible mitigation strategies: glove-wearing, single-use of sharps,
Twitching/jumping leading to puncture or deeper cuts than imagined
Nerve damage, including–at points–cuts as small as 1/4 inch deep
Fainting at sight
Scars, which are not always predictable particularly depending on placement
parts of the body that move more are less likely to heal quickly and more likely to scar
possible scar risks include lack of ability to wear certain forms of clothing, loss of trust from doctors, keloid scarring which can be painful
Difficult-to-impossible to return bottom to normal state quickly after safeword use with some forms
Barbed wire-specific: galvanized wire can flake; stainless is safer
Coatings on hooks containing toxic materials
Needles: see Needles and Piercing
Risks/possibilities to always consider include (but are not limited to):
Psychological trauma, which can be unexpected and long-lasting
A resulting lack of ability to communicate (incl. safewords)
Pre-existing conditions or triggers not being disclosed, therefore increasing other risks without the other party’s knowledge
Equipment failure and the risks therein, both of structural elements (e.g., furniture, hard points) and toys (i.e., risks resulting from the toy breaking and associated jagged edges, shattered glass, etc)
Medical and legal misadventures
If there’s an emergency, who will get this person to the ER? Do you know their first and last name(/how to get to their ID if not) if they’re unconscious? Does any party want/need a cover story, particularly if the answer to the consent-to-assault question is “no”? Has everyone agreed on one that is as close to the truth as possible (medical professionals need what fully happened)?
Can you consent to assault in your state (assault in this case = near any kind of pain purposefully inflicted on a person)? If not, is the person facilitating the experience prepared to accept consequences if a worst-case scenario happens?
Thoughts and reactions of overhearers/onlookers, both kinky and non
Increased danger that comes from the prevalence of whiteness in Fetlife and popular media kinky pictures, leading warning signs and various medical conditions unnoticed on darker skin
To learn how this might appear, please see Mind the Gap here.
Allergies
Fungal/Staph infections from shared equipment
Shock
Fainting from pain, dehydration, shock, prolonged standing etc. and hitting head/bone/nerve
Panic attacks and related symptoms incl. shaking (dangerous especially with sharps) and inability to communicate
Financial responsibility
There’s a very expensive world of possibilities between “nothing went wrong” and “death”; when folks cannot take time off work, complications from play lead to loss of income for some, and job loss for others (or increase of severity of injury/trauma due to lack of ability to rest)
Changes/decreases to ability to heal even if experienced before due to natural aging and wear on the body
Death