The important reason you should be cleaning your sex toys

More of us than ever before are enjoying self-pleasure since the coronavirus pandemic.

And that has led to an increase in the use of sex toys, according to a survey by Lovehoney.

The study found that 39% of people who had never used sex toys before the pandemic are doing so now.

But experts say we have to make sure we are cleaning objects used during sex to avoid risk of infection.

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Dr Deborah Lee from Dr Fox Online Pharmacy told condoms.uk: "We are all too well aware of the need for good hygiene in the current throes of the Covid pandemic. Good hygiene is also paramount in terms of putting objects inside the vagina. Bacteria such as salmonella, shigella, E. Coli, and campylobacter can all be spread via the use of sex toys, as can hepatitis A, B and C, chlamydia, and gonorrhoea”.

Her advice is to always wash your sex toys after each and every use, before you use them again:

• Wash any sex toys in warm soapy water for at least 20 seconds, as you would when washing your hands.

• Silicone toys without electrical parts can be boiled for 1-3 minutes, rinsed and left to dry.

• You can purchase special cleaners for sex toys but be careful to choose products that do not contain alcohol or parabens.

• Dry the object with a paper towel and throw this away.

• Keep the sex toy in a clean bag, ready for further use.

• Do not put sex toys in the dishwasher! For a start, anything with electrical components will be ruined, plus the dishwasher leaves a residue that is not meant to end up inside the vagina.

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Dr Lee concluded: "If you throw caution to the wind and don’t follow advice, you risk traumatising the genital area, damaging your genital tissues, developing a local infection, a local allergic reaction and damaging latex condoms which could lead to an STI and/or unplanned pregnancy.

"A local infection could always develop into a more serious infection – giving rise to pelvic inflammatory disease (PID), which can affect your future fertility, and potentially cause septicaemia." Scary stuff and definitely worth spending five minutes on a quick wash for.