Needle Play

From BDSM Wiki
Revision as of 17:03, 14 May 2014 by Admin (Talk | contribs)


Jump to: navigation, search

Skull and crossbones.png Edge play is dangerous; do not try this at home! Skull and crossbones.png

Needle play, play piercing, or recreational acupuncture is body piercing done for the purpose of enjoying the experience rather than producing a permanent body decoration. Needles, sharpened bones, or other tools used in play piercing are removed from the body when the episode is complete, allowing the wounds to heal.

Play piercing as part of a BDSM scene can produce an intense natural endorphin high which can last for hours and may possibly induce orgasm in many of the people who experience it. The experience of multiple piercings in an erotically or spiritually charged context is qualitatively very different from the experience most people have had with phlebotomists in medical settings, in part because the needle is placed 'through' the skin at a secant so that both ends are accessible, rather than 'into' the skin, though some prefer their piercing scenes to take on a more medical theme and feel.

Basic Piercing Requirements

  • Full disclosure and trust of medical history from the top and bottom concerning Blood Borne Pathogens, recent fluid bonding history and testing.
  • A Sterile Environment (clean drapes, stainless steel surfaces, puppy pads, supporting furniture for the bottom)
  • An EMT on duty prepared with emergency medical gear and access to an oxygen mask
  • Biohazard Sharps Container

Basic Kit Requirements

  • 1 Box Nitrile Gloves
  • 1 Box 100 22 gauge 1.5 inch sterile (length and guage may vary) single use, hypodermic needles intended for human use
  • Needle Clippers and End Caps
  • Beta-dine and Iodine wipes
  • 91% alchohol solution
  • Water Bottle filled with drinking water
  • Various sized Bandages
  • Optional: Surgical Skin Marker and Needle Decorations (feathers, ribbons, etc)

RACK

  • Improper piercing technique can cause contamination of blood borne pathogens, some of which will cause discomfort or worse, up to and including death.
  • Improper technique can cause blood loss (minor or severe), infection (minor or severe), and/or paralysis (both temporary and permanent).

Basic Temporary Piercing Principles

Be Prepared

Do not attempt to temporarily pierce a person without proper hands on training and medical education; this article constitutes neither.

Aspirin and alcohol use in the bottom enhances bleeding and should be avoided if blood flow is not desired.

Have everything you need set up BEFORE you start. Once you are sterile and gloved, and your bottom flying on endorphines, you do not want to have to stop the scene because you just realized you were out of something or can't find something. Hypodermic needles can be purchased online. Avoid veterinarian supply stores as those needles are designed to go through hide and are less sharp.

Protection

Piercers are most likely to contaminate the Top with blood, the bottom is giving blood, not receiving it in most cases. If a bottom is pierced it is possible to contaminate them by first contaminating the top by sticking their finger during the piercing of the bottom, and then pulling the needle back through the skin of the bottom. Instead, if you stick the top when exiting the piercing, place an end cap on the needle and clip the needle further up the needle past where it was contaminated by the top, and then pull it back through. While the top is going to be contaminated in this case, there is no reason to contaminate the bottom as well.

The piercer(s) must wear nitrile exam gloves and consider them single use (always wear new gloves for each person pierced in a group scene to avoid cross-infection). Some bottoms have latex allergies so avoid latex gloves.

It is recommended that the top double-up when wearing gloves and learn how to remove the gloves without touching the bloodied outside of the gloves.

Blood bourne pathogens are numerous and will result in discomfort at best, death at worst.

Sterility

Needle parts.jpg

Use antibacterial soap to prepare the skin before play, and use antiseptics immediately before and after piercing. Wash your hands for as long as it takes to sing Happy Birthday twice.

Always use brand new sterile needles, usually 18-25 gauge, 1.5 inch or longer is recommended. For beginners, 22 gauge is a good start. 18 gets to be quite alot larger. A needle has three parts, the bevel, shaft and hub. Usually the hub is otherwise used to attach them to a syringe. The colour of this fitting usually indicates the needle gauge.

All the bio-hazardous waste (needles, gloves, swabs or alcohol preps) must all be disposed of in a biohazard sharps container, never in a trash bin.

Prep the area to be pierced with alcohol and (clear) betadine or Iodine. Remove the iodine with iodine removal pads. Make sure the bottom is comfortable and ready. Consider telling the bottom to take a deep breath right before inserting the needle, and then slowly releasing it as you pierce through. Be prepared by having the body well supported and oxygen available as some bottoms may feint from the endorpin rush or from the sight of blood or piercing.

Newneedle.jpg

Performance

Negotiate the patterns and number of needles ahead of time. Consider using a surgical skin marker if you want to pierce in a specific, predetermined pattern and it would be helpful to draw it out on the skin first.

Don't pierce wrists, hands, internal organs, bones, eyes or the spine. Avoid the armpit, sternum and areas with many veins and arteries such as the shaft of a penis. It is best to avoid piercing the genitals of any person unless you have professional training about the nerve endings/clusters, arteries and veins in these areas.

The needle should travel just underneath the surface (the subcutaneous layers) of ordinary skin, to emerge through the skin a short distance from where it was inserted. Be cautious of shallow piercings if they are intended to stay in. They can easily be ripped out and tear the skin.

Check-in with the bottom often. Is she/he faint, going pale or shaking? These are common reactions to the flood of hormones and neurotransmitters circulating throughout the body. Have water, a first aid kit and blankets nearby. Never pierce somebody alone. If you both pass out, what then?

Once pierced you can glue feathers to your hypodermic needles inside the plastic cap on top if you wish to make pretty patterns, such as angel wings, eagle wings etc. Colored end caps can also be used to make elaborate patters. Ribbons can be tied in to create patterns or skin corsets.

Monitor the bottom for signs of shock, emotional reactions etc. Some times reactions set in long after the needle-play itself is over. Sometimes aftercare can repair a scene gone awry, or help both parties process their feelings about what just occurred.