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What are the risks of swingers practices? What measures do we have to take? How is COVID-19 transmitted? What is the safety and hygiene protocol in liberal premises? We tell you everything in this article.
Risks of swingers practices post-coronavirus
There are many doubts about how sexual relations will be post-coronavirus because it is difficult for us to accept that what has happened in these months has somehow caused our encounters will change, especially those that are not with the person or persons with whom we do not share housing. They will not be better or worse, simply different.
Therefore, it is important that we put on the table the risks and implications of not carrying out the safety and hygiene protocol in erotic relationships. And with this information, let each person assess whether it is worth risking their health and that of their environment.
To know the risks of having sex, we must first ask ourselves if COVID-19 is transmissible through sexual intercourse. From what has been studied, in general, no germs have been found in genital lubrication, but we should be careful because two recent studies have found the virus in the semen and vaginal fluid of a woman.
However, I go further: it is common knowledge that sexual intercourse involves more than just the genital areas. There are kisses, caresses, games with or without penetration where the whole body comes into play. According to a sexologist, “the highest concentration of the virus is in saliva”, which is why it is recommended to avoid mouth-to-mouth contact, above all.
So, if the question was whether there was a risk of contagion in sexual relations, the answer is yes, since the coronavirus is transmitted by direct contact with respiratory droplets of more than 5 microns (capable of being transmitted over distances of up to 2 meters) and hands or fomites contaminated with these secretions followed by contact with the mucous membranes of the mouth, nose or eyes.
How to protect yourself
Let's see then, how would be the safety and hygiene protocol adapted to sexual relations, which health professionals recommend avoiding contracting it.
The ideal would be :
- Avoid mouth-to-mouth contact, oral sex, oro-anal practices or postures that favor a direct face-to-face relationship.
- Extreme hygiene: wash your hands before and after, as well as sanitize the toys used.
- Wear gloves and masks and, of course, do not forget to use condoms.
- When you are going to have sexual contact outside the living environment, it is best to spend 15 days in quarantine (quarantine duration should be adapted to your local health recommendations, as it often changes).
- You can take the opportunity to chat, get to know each other by chat, video calls, play virtually, or even have sex. And when you are sure that no symptoms have appeared during this period, then you can have sexual contact, but try to avoid the risky sexual practices mentioned above.
We know, this is ideal, but the truth is that all this is very likely to be difficult to maintain in a clear-cut way. That is why many people have decided to avoid any contact with other people just to avoid feeling the anxiety of not doing things correctly.
There are also people who believe that by taking only some measures they can avoid contracting the virus. Such as, for example, people who believe that by staying with people they know they are already saved from contracting it, or those who think that only by washing their hands before and after they are already immunized. As I said above, it is up to each person to decide how to act, assuming, of course, the possible consequences.
In any case, the important thing is to maintain coherence and common sense. There will always be things that are beyond our control. Those that are in our hands we should do them trying to provide us with the tranquility we need to be at ease in an erotic encounter, because this, what it is about, is to enjoy!
CORONA is not like HIV
On the other hand, I think it is appropriate to talk about how wrong it is to compare this pandemic with that of HIV/AIDS, since they are two totally different cases.
- HIV is transmitted, not contagious and the routes of transmission are semen, vaginal secretions, blood, and breast milk, so avoiding such transmission is as simple as not having genital contact or putting on a condom to avoid direct genital contact. Kissing, caressing, or drying hands with the same towel are not routes of transmission, for example.
- On the other hand, Covid-19 is transmitted through the mucous membranes of the nose, mouth, and eyes, i.e. someone, for example, can sneeze near us and those microparticles with the virus can reach our nose or eyes. That is why the use of masks and the safety distance is so important.
Some people say that some time ago we already lived through the HIV/AIDS pandemic, and we did not have so much security protocol. It is normal, since, as I explain, HIV is transmitted and for that, it is necessary to have genital contact or contact with blood and this is something that we are not doing with everyone. On the other hand, with the coronavirus, it is not even necessary to be touched to be infected, it is enough to pass by someone infected who has just sneezed to be able to inhale the virus. Then the measures must be different because we come across many people throughout the day. That's why we had to stay isolated at home because things don't just happen!
Guidelines for Safe and Hygienic Swinging Activities
I would like to mention the safety and hygiene protocol that swinger clubs, bars, or saunas could follow. It is important to point out that they have been the forgotten ones in this de-escalation. No one has provided guidelines or safety measures, and it has been thanks to the good work and good intentions that many locals have put to get to establish some forms of action. Being a peculiar group, its treatment may generate doubts. It is not a drinking pub, although it is preferably frequented at night; it is not a discotheque, although in both there is a lot of sweat. These are some of the guidelines that can be implemented.
- Frequent handwashing.
- Use of masks.
- Keeping a safe distance from tables.
- If you go with acquaintances, keep a safe distance from other groups.
- Maintain the measures that were already in place in the premises before this situation: (use of disposable sheets, use of condoms, use of showers…).
- The temperature of all persons entering the premises can be taken.
- The hydroalcoholic gel should be available in several areas of the premises.
Finally, we would like to make some notes about the answers you have given in the survey we asked you to answer a few weeks ago. First, thank you very much both for the diffusion and because we have received a lot of answers, and it has allowed us to get an idea of how people in the liberal environment are going to take the return. We have seen some data that have caught our attention and I will now describe them:
- Once again, the lifestyle community has shown a responsible attitude towards the situation that confronts us: 45.3% of the people who responded will postpone meeting other people until the situation is safe. This, in our opinion, says a lot about what the liberal environment is and has always been.
- We were struck by the fact that almost half of the responses (49.8%) were from people whose only safety measure they will adopt is to meet with people they know in private places. Moreover, the percentage of people who will do so increases according to the number of years they have been in the liberal environment. Let's not forget that, even if we know the people, the risk still exists.
- As for the type of practices, 61.8% of the total bet on a full partner swap, of which only 10% believe it necessary to adopt special measures for the prevention of coronavirus, the rest will use only condoms as before.
- Finally, it is noteworthy that 11.6% of the respondents say they know nothing about the liberal environment.
You think you can control the risk?
As you can see, although there are people who consider that it is not necessary to take special measures, many others have made clear a notorious concern for carrying out any protocol that is applied in order to live the erotic encounters with the tranquility of doing things well. Bravo for these people! We must not fall into the false belief of “it won't happen to me” that can appear when a person feels that he/she controls the situation perfectly or when he/she is confident that his/her situation is special to that of others. Let's not forget that not only the person who comes into contact with other people is put at risk, but also his or her environment.
Despite this new situation, we all know that sexuality is very diverse and rich and allows everyone to find their most creative side to enjoy a thousand and one ways, so I am unable to give magic formulas to continue enjoying sex with others and with your partner. But I am sure that it will not be difficult for you to find practices that will take you to seventh heaven. Use your imagination to discover and rejoice in these new forms of enjoyment.