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.
Broken bones and sprains
Soft tissue injuries
Infection from broken skin
Any negative effects from misthrows, including but not limited to ruptured eardrums and detached retinas
Implements breaking, causing jagged edges
Microbial transfer on poorly or impossible-to-sanitize tools
Damage to sciatic nerve—numbness, pain, limping, weakness – from impact to lower back, especially if receiver is bending at all
Kidney damage – though this is actually extremely unlikely
Mitigated by hydrating before and after play; riskier for those with baseline renal insufficiency
Hitting bystanders
Altered body shape, skin texture, softness, and sensation (“leather butt”) over long periods of time due to scar tissue build-up
Skin discoloration, sometimes permanent
Myositis ossificans (bone forming inside muscles)
Diabetic foot injuries
Deep vein thrombosis (DVT)/blood clots
Higher risk if large vein, IV drug user, pregnant, inherited thrombophilia, rendered immobile, with some oral birth control.
Impact over bruises is not inherently higher risk for this.
Shoulder/wrist damage to top
Impact to top from uncontrolled toy follow-through
Tearing out of piercings
May cause tattoos to fade when done on top of them
“The only reason your body doesn’t get rid of the ink on its own is the particles are too big, anything that makes the ink particles break up will fade tattoos over time. (That’s what laser removal is, breaking up the chunks with a laser)”
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