{"id":8578,"date":"2017-07-17T11:00:08","date_gmt":"2017-07-17T15:00:08","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.sxysadist.com\/MainSite\/?p=8578"},"modified":"2022-06-29T09:34:03","modified_gmt":"2022-06-29T13:34:03","slug":"breath-blood-flow-play-class-notes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.sxysadist.com\/MainSite\/?p=8578","title":{"rendered":"Breath & Blood Flow Play Class Notes"},"content":{"rendered":"

I very much enjoy many forms of breath play and for several years I taught a class on the topic for the kink community.\u00a0 I have since retired from teaching but would like to continue sharing the class info for anyone interested.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

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Breath & blood flow play are among the most dangerous forms of play practiced with in the kink community. Anyone that chooses to engage in this activity must be aware that there is no absolute SAFE way to play with breath and that some forms of it are far riskier than others. In order to make an informed decision as to whether to engage in this activity or not, all parties must fully understand what the risks are, and that legally you are criminally and civilly liable for your actions.\u00a0 Also, any party giver who allows permits these practices at their parties is looking at being held co-liable, both civilly and criminally, for any deaths or injuries that result, either from their giving such permission or from their \u201clooking the other way\u201d while such practices occur.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/strong>What is Breath & Blood Flow Play?<\/strong><\/h4>\n

I feel that \u201cBreath Play\u201d takes no single identifiable format but rather includes a wide array of activities. These activities can be grouped into quite a few categories and each different style not only can create a different \u201cfeel\u201d or affect to the recipient, but also can carry it\u2019s own risks.\u00a0 I feel the one thing they do have in common is that all of the forms change the amount of oxygen the body & brain receives, either by restricting, increasing or altering the flow of breath, which then changes the chemical content of the blood. These factors can cause very real dangers to the body which I will get to shortly.\u00a0 <\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/strong>Most severe medical dangers: <\/strong><\/h5>\n
    \n
  • Cardiac Dangers<\/strong> \u2013 Depending on what style of play you are doing one of two main things can go wrong in the heart.<\/li>\n
  • PVCs –<\/strong> When the blood is low on oxygen, for any reason, it can cause the heart to start firing off faster and more erratically leading to what are knows as premature ventricular contractions or PVCs. If a PVC happens to fire off during a particular phase of cardiac contraction, especially if the heart muscle is low on oxygen, it can kick the heart over into ventricular fibrillation, a kind of cardiac arrest. The lower the heart gets on oxygen, the more PVC’s it creates and the more dangerous this becomes. You need to be aware that each and every PVC is potentially lethal and that there is no way to tell it is happening without a heart monitor (I know very few folks that have one of THOSE in their toy bag!). Even if you stop the activity immediately, there’s no telling when the PVC’s will end. They could stop almost at once, or they could continue for as long as 36 hours, and send the person into cardiac arrest at any time, even long after the play has ended.<\/li>\n
  • Carotid Pressure<\/strong> – Pressing on the carotid arteries, causes a reaction in the body that basically tells your brain your blood pressure is too high which causes vasodilation in the brain (to allow the blood to flood with less pressure), but since blood flow is restricted by the pressure on the carotids there is not enough blood to feed the brain and the bottom can lose consciousness quite quickly and suddenly. In the same instant, a message is also sent to the main pacemaker of the heart, via the vagus nerve, to decrease the rate and force of the heartbeat (to lessen the pressure on the receptors in the neck except that it wasn\u2019t the cause of the pressure in the first place). There is no sure way to predict if the heart will slow to a level that can still sustain life or if it will stop entirely and send them into cardiac arrest.
    \nThere is some evidence that shows that the fatalities from this happen more often in persons who are in a strong state of emotional or physical distress at the time that a choke hold is applied which causes the heart to go from a rapid rate and force of contraction to a sudden drop that it cannot recover from, but only doing this on someone in a relaxed state cannot be counted on as safe. How this applies to someone who is in a strong state of emotional and physical “distress” because they are sexually aroused is not yet clear, but it seems logical to conclude that they would face at least somewhat of an elevated risk.
    \nThere is no way to tell whether or not either of these will happen in any particular instance, or how quickly.\u00a0 BDSM author and attorney Jay Wiseman (a noted and respected authority and expert witness on this subject, whom I consulted with in preparing this material) says there are many documented cases of as little as five seconds of choking or suffocation causing cardiac arrest.\u00a0 He further says that there are no reliable warning signs that signal when things are about to go too far and that if a cardiac arrest does occur; the chances of a successful resuscitation are very low.<\/li>\n
  • Stroke<\/strong> \u2013 is a very serious danger of strangulation or carotid pressure play. A stroke can be caused by dislodging fatty plague build ups in the arteries of the neck which can travel to the brain and cause injury or clog the artery and deprive portions of the brain of oxygen. Some of the symptoms of a stroke are loss of consciousness, paralysis, unequal pupils size, paralysis usually on one side, sweating, slightly lowered temperature, and speech disturbances.
    \nSome risk factors for stroke cannot be helped. Men are far more likely to have one than women.\u00a0 After age 55 the risk factor increases each year.\u00a0 If you have a history of stroke in your family or have had one before, you are at risk.\u00a0 Other factors that increase chances of stroke are being over weight, lack of exercise, poor diet, smoking, as well as conditions such as heart or artery disease, diabetes mellitus, sickle cell disease, high blood pressure and especially high cholesterol. You should definitely NOT engage in breath play if you are at high risk of a stroke or heart attack. If you feel you or someone you are with may be having a stroke or a heart attach: Get Medical Help Immediately!<\/li>\n
  • Respiratory & Metabolic Acidosis
    \n<\/strong>If breathing is restricted, CO2 builds up in the blood stream and which decreases the pH and makes the blood more acidic. At the same time, blood oxygen levels also drop.\u00a0 Medically, this drop in\u00a0blood oxygen\u00a0level is known as hypoxia. Oxygen is needed in the body as part of the metabolic process that breaks down glucose in the body to create fuel. If there is an insufficient amount of O2 to power this operation properly there is a chemical reaction that creates a build up of lactic acid in the cells and can lead to yet another drop in the blood\u2019s ph, a condition called metabolic acidosis. An acidosis caused by both an increase in blood levels of carbon dioxide and a decrease in blood levels of oxygen, such as occurs in suffocation where breath has difficulty both in getting in and getting out, is sometimes called a \u201cmixed acidosis.\u201d<\/li>\n
  • Respiratory Alkalosis<\/strong>
    \nIf the person hyperventilates, CO2 is blown off and it raises the pH making the blood more alkaline. This can cause confusion and stupor, vomiting, hyperactive reflexes, seizure, rapid respiration, numbness, and coma. The best way to treat it is by having them do some form of rebreathing until they calm down and then have them breath normally. Hyperventilation is something that we run into when doing breath control play because the body tries to compensate for the lack of oxygen and may go a bit overboard in doing so. It also is common that at times of fear a person will hyperventilate. An acidosis caused by both an increase in blood levels of carbon dioxide and a decrease in blood levels of oxygen, such as occurs in suffocation where breath has difficulty both in getting in and getting out, is sometimes called a \u201cmixed acidosis.\u201d All three of these conditions<\/strong> can cause headache, drowsiness, hyperventilation (as a way to compensate), cardiac dysrhythmias, gastrointestinal distress, abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea and blurred vision. The best way to treat it is to restore normal breathing as soon as possible. Most of these symptoms should clear up with in a few moments once normal breathing is restored if but any persist please seek immediate medical attention.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

    Important Note<\/strong> \u2013 Our bloods chemical consistency must be maintained within a fairly narrow range for life and health to exist. A blood pH that is either too low or too high is \u201cincompatible with life\u201d and the extremes of any of these conditions can be deadly.
    \nIt is also VERY important to note that vomiting could occur as a result of any of these conditions, and that can be deadly if the airway is restricted or obstructed or if they are tied on their back and lead to asphyxiation. Be sure that whatever you are doing or using can be stopped or removed within seconds, and that if they were to vomit that they will not choke on it.<\/p>\n