- Autumn wrote:
Check out Jay Wiseman's Medical Realities of Breathplay: "As a person with years of medical education and experience, I know of no way whatsoever that either suffocation or strangulation can be done in a way that does not intrinsically put the recipient at risk of cardiac arrest." http://members.aol.com/Oldrope/breath.htm Also in his book: SM 101
As someone that engages in the activity and gives seminars on edge play, I would say the following:
The main dangers of breath play (and I will agree that using a plastic bag is not a terribly safe way to engage in the activity, and I strongly warn against auto erotic asphyxia) are the following:
Premature Ventricular Contractions
When the body is low on oxygen, it starts to receive extra "pacemaker" type signals to try to force the heart to pump more oxygen to the brain. This causes the ventricles of the heart to contract irregularly and could eventually lead to ventricular fibrillation (one form of cardiac arrest). This is why knowing CPR is almost mandatory if you are going to engage in breath play.
Now...to add a little perspective. You can trigger this problem *any* time you hold your breath or straining to lift something. That includes aerobics, lifting furniture, going to the bathroom, snorkeling, having sex, or exerting yourself in a higher elevation than you're used to (camping/hiking in the mountains).
Respiratory Acidosis
This is caused by a build up of CO2 in the bloodstream causing the blood to acidify. It can cause dizziness, hyperventilation, headache, cardiac disrhythmias, gastrointestinal distress, nausea, vomiting, blurred vision, and abdominal pain. In the extreme, it can cause death.
The best way to treat this is to restore normal breathing as soon as possible. Once oxygen enters the bloodstream again, the acidosis begins to go away.
Respiratory Alkalosis
If the person hyperventilates, CO2 is blown off the bloodstream, the bloodstream becomes more alkaline. This can cause confusion and stupor, vomiting, hyperactive reflexes, seizure, rapid respiration, numbness, and coma. If the pH of the body increases drastically it can cause death.
The easiest way to solve this problem is through rebreathing (breathing into a paper bag).
Metabolic Acidosis
Otherwise known as lactic acid buildup (something that athletes do drills to get their bodies used to dealing with on a daily basis). Lactic acid buildup causes a deep aching/burning in the muscles. Instead of changing the pH of the bloodstream, it changes the pH of the body. Lactic acid is the byproduct of the breakdown of pyruvate in the body when there is not enough oxygen to spur the reaction normally. As the body breaks down glucose in the body, it should use the pyruvate in the body in the presence of oxygen to turn glucose into ATP which provides us our energy. If there is not enough oxygen present, lactic acid is the product of the glucose/pyruvate reaction.
This can cause headache, drowsiness, hyperventilation, cardiac dysrhythmias, gastrointestinal distress, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, blurred vision. and abdominal pain.
*MOST* of these dangers we have to deal with on a daily basis anyway. Yes, they are elevated somewhat when we do breath play or play out on the edge. But they are manageable to bring them into line with the risks being taken. That risk level is what each person has to evaluate when they are playing.
Also keep in mind that most of what we consider "safe" play is not. The "toys" that we use are weapons of various kinds....not toys. They were meant to cause pain and damage the person on the receiving end, generally as punishment or worse.
