Are There Any Long-Term Effects?

Maybe.

If you are careful and take good care of your body, long-term effects are more likely to be positive or pleasurable versus negative.

There is, for example, a very small risk of leakage and prolapse over the course of a lifetime.

Exacerbate Hemorrhoids

While anal sex may irritate hemorrhoids further, or even make them worse, it’s not been know to cause them, and in some cases, the training for anal (and eating the right diet) can actually help heal/reduce them.

Hemorrhoids, also known as piles, are swollen veins in the lowest part of your rectum and anus. Sometimes the walls of these blood vessels stretch so thin that the veins bulge and get irritated, especially when you defecate. They can cause itching, slight bleeding (hemorrhoids are the most common cause of rectal bleeding), and sometimes pain.

Reduce The Risk

LUBRICANT.

LOTS of lubricant. Hemorrhoids are irritated by friction during anal. Lube reduces that friction.

Continence Concerns

Rough penetrative anal sex may result in the anal sphincters being weakened, which can cause incontinence.

Reduce The Risk

So, take precaution, go slow (use lube!) and allow your sphincters to relax naturally, to avoid traumatizing and tearing the muscles.

Kegels will also help strengthen your sphincters and overall pelvic floor, and can help prevent or even (in some cases) remedy fecal incontinence.

Anal Sex And STIs, HIV and AIDs

Before I get into details, let me state clearly:

Safe sex is not just for flesh-and-blood cocks and tongues.

It’s for fingers, toys, and anything else that comes into contact with the rectum, anus, and any other part of the genitalia.

Reduce The Risk:

Do not use a toy on multiple people without cleaning first or changing condoms.

Know your status, get tested, and increase your awareness of STIs and how to talk to lovers and play partners about them.

If you’re monogamous with your partner, you may not need to put a condom on every toy every time, but it’s still a good idea to do a deep clean of toys regularly. And make sure you do a thorough soap and water wash before you use toys, and preferably after, too, to keep your materials in good shape.

Make sure you get good silicone cocks that can be easily boiled, or put through the dishwasher.

You might want to get harnesses that clean more easily, like rubber, or machine washable materials like spandex and cotton and nylon.

Of course, use condoms on your body parts when playing with people you are not fluid bonded with.

Fluid Bonded: Couples who choose to stop practicing safer sex with each other are sometimes said to be fluid bonded, because they share bodily fluids with each other.

Check for nicks and cuts on your hands and arms before doing anal play, not just to avoid STIs but also more basic types of infections.

A sharp stinging sensation when lightly rubbing alcohol on the skin is a clear indication of ‘non visible’ abrasions which can increase the risk of STI/HIV transmission.

Better yet, always use a finger cot or surgical gloves of your choice.

Micro-Tears & Infection

As I’ve already explained, the anus doesn’t self-lubricate and the lining is super-thin. This can lead to a greater risk of friction-related tears in the anus and rectum, where bacteria might enter the blood stream.

That’s bad, y’all.

Poop has lots of bacteria that you don’t want going into your blood. That’s, in fact, why it’s being sent out of the body—or at least one reason.

This can lead to many types of infections, including anal abscesses.

Reduce The Risk:

To minimize these risks, a person should take some precautions to prevent the skin from tearing:

• Use A LOT of lubricant to minimize friction-related tears (I’ve told you this before!)
• Change condoms if moving from anal to vaginal sex to avoid introducing different bacterial forms to each
• Move slowly until the lubrication is comfortable and the receiver is feeling confident
• Slow or stop anal sex if a person experiences pain or discomfort

Pregnancy

A common myth is that you can’t get pregnant through anal.

Which theoretically SHOULD be true. Except when it isn’t.

Sperm (the tenacious little buggers) can leak out the butt and will swim their way into the vaginal canal, given the right circumstances!

Reduce The Risk:

• Use a condom.
• Clean up.
• Lay on your back. (LOL!)

Let’s Discuss!

Did any of these inspire you to plan ahead for better anal safety?