Autoerotic Self-Bondage Safety
People seldom die from autoerotic bondage, BUT, there are many deaths attributed to autoerotic asphyxia.
I know of only two cases of death due to self-bondage. One is cited in the 1983 book Autoerotic Fatalities by Robert R. Hazelwood, Park Elliott Dietz and Ann Wolbert Burgess. It is in Chapter 6, Atypical Autoerotic Fatalities, which has 18 examples of atypical autoerotic deaths. Only case #13, was attributed to self-bondage. The actual cause of death was exposure. In the entire book there is only one example of a fatality do to self-bondage. And, note, the title of the chapter: "Atypical Autoerotic Fatalities". The second example is questionable. Many attribute his death to murder. It involved the GCHQ & SIS (MI6) spy Gareth Williams on August 16, 2010. See: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Death_of_Gareth_Williams. “[M]any questions remain unanswered" but his death “was probably an accident”.
I know of one case where someone died at a play party, probably one of the safest places to play. The people watching him thought he was having an orgasm while struggling to let them know his air was cut off -- asphyxia.
I personally know a person who was tied up by their "bondage-buddy". He had been warned not to play with the guy, but did it anyway. He was almost killed. As I remember the story, at the end of the kidnapping he was dumped naked & hogtied in the snow outside a bar. I believe that playing erotic bondage games with the wrong person is far more dangerous than playing them with yourself.
Another person told me of when he was drugged after being tied up. He made it out alive, but the scene was very non-consensual.
I understand a few years back in San Francisco, there was a series of about three murders committed by someone's "bondage-buddy".
Jeffrey Dahmer, who committed the rape, murder, and dismemberment of 17 men and boys between 1978 to 1991 used drugs and handcuffs.
“The Doodler” killed between six and sixteen S&M practitioners around 1974 in San Francisco, CA. See the Wikipedia page “Doodler”: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doodler
Play safe. Here is my list for bondage play:
Never play with a ligature around your neck. Or anything that could act as a ligature around your neck. Never play with strangulation, even with a partner.
If you do bondage, have a backup. This applies to all types of bondage. It is better to play with two bondage-buddies than just one. Play parties can provide tens of backups. The Delta and Inferno runs have specific designated individuals to keep the play safe. When I do self-bondage I have five separate timers, two connected smoke detectors, and someone who will check on me if I don't show up.
Don't eat, drink, or take drugs excessively prior to play. Don't play when sick.
Throwing up and passing out need to be planned for, even if the event is unlikely. They both can quickly result in dangerous bondage scene. There are good reasons that surgeons insist that you to fast prior to an operation.
Don't obstruct your breathing. Most autoerotic deaths are the result of asphyxia. The one death I mentioned above that occurred at a play party was also the result of asphyxia. DO NOT obstruct your breathing if doing self-bondage. If your breathing becomes blocked, even when playing with others, there is only about three minutes for your play partner(s) to recognize the problem and fix it. Gags, gas masks, any form of breath-control, and most hoods are inherently unsafe in self-bondage.
Play with safe people. People that don't use drugs, including alcohol & marijuana excessively prior to play. Play with people that pay attention. If you are new to bondage, play parties are a safe place to meet people. Once you know people in the scene, play with people your friends know and have played with. Talk to strangers, just don't let them tie you up, especially at your place. If you insist on playing with strangers make sure a friend knows with who and where you are playing. See item #2 - have a backup.
If you play by yourself it is safer if you are mobile enough to get out of the building or call 911 in the US (for other countries see: http://www.sccfd.org/travel.html). Remember, you really will not die from embarrassment.
If you do long term play make sure you can get water and food. I have heard you can go without air for three minutes, without water for three days, and without food for three weeks. So for self-bondage air and water gives you a "safety-window" of three weeks for someone to find you.
Have at least two keys for every lock. Know where the keys are, Store locks locked, it forces you to check the lock by unlocking it prior to use. For self-bondage make sure you can not only reach the needed keys, but that you can also get the keys into the lock. Have a knife or scissors for cutting straps and rope. Have a grinder and/or a bolt cutter for cutting locks, chains, handcuffs, and leg irons. (And if you play with rivets, cutting rivets.) Make sure you can reach the needed keys.
Play save. Be safe. I believe that if self-bondage is carefully done it is probably as safe as other risky activities such as surfing, skydiving, scuba diving, and flying your own plane. These and many other risky activities can be done safely with the proper planning, precautions, and preparation.
For a wonderful example of being prepared, see Jeremy Foley and his co-driver Yuri Kouznetsov's 2012 Pikes Peak International Hill Climb crash: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=on3RxOpGNYA. They reportedly walked away “[a] little beaten up but nothing major” after the crash.
http://sj.blacksteel.com & http://www.metalbondnyc.com/daily-thread/self-bondage-on-steroids/
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