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<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\nWorried about sexually transmitted infections (STIs)? Order Better2Know\u2019s Full STI Screen Home Test today.<\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n A sexually transmitted infection (STI)<\/strong><\/a> is an infection that people get through sexual activity. “Sexual activity” can refer to a lot of things. For most people, it refers to forms of sexual intercourse, like oral sex, anal sex, and vaginal sex. But it can also include other kinds of unprotected sexual contact, like foreplay, digital stimulation, and – that’s right – sharing sex toys.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Most STIs are transmitted through swapping bodily fluids like semen, vaginal fluids, and blood. But some infections, like HPV<\/strong><\/a> and Herpes<\/strong><\/a>, can be transmitted through simple skin-to-skin contact, like touching an infected person’s genitals and kissing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Sex toys are available in a wide range of shapes, sizes, and functions. Popular types of sex toys include vibrators, dildos, anal plugs, wearable devices, posture pillows, restraints like handcuffs and rope, fleshlights, sex dolls, penis rings, and more.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The point of sex toys is to help you and your sexual partners enhance your sexual experiences by making them more stimulating, arousing, and pleasurable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n But sex toys also need to be treated with care. They need to be maintained and cleaned properly, because if they’re not, they can pass on STIs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The logistics of how you get an STI from a sex toy are pretty simple.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Let’s say you (a woman) are getting intimate with a new sexual partner (also a woman), but that partner, unbeknownst to you, has a genital Chlamydia infection. Your partner starts using a vibrator, and hands it to you, and then you use it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This is how STIs are transmitted when using sex toys. Infected fluids remain on the surface of the toy. These fluids then come into contact with the mucous membranes of the uninfected partner, which allows the pathogens access to your body.<\/p>\n\n\n\n (While the example above uses vibrators, the same could be applied to any sex toy that is used by more than one person during sex.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n Any infection you can get through sex, you can get through sharing sex toys. That’s why it’s so important to care for and maintain your sex toys properly.<\/p>\n\n\n\nWhat’s an STI?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Types of sex toy<\/h2>\n\n\n\n