Myth busters; The anal episode

Some time back one wrote a how to guide for wearing butt plugs  long term. Since then a few of you have tried it, wondered about it and occasionally asked questions... well more expressed some concerns... so one thought it was time to examine some of these. Again the same caveat as on the last one. This is personal experience and this is not for the squeamish or the sensitive.

Stop reading now if you are squeamish...

Myth 1.

People seem to confuse a butt plug and a dildo thinking they are the same thing.

A butt plug ideally looks a bit like a figure eight. It has a narrow waist in relationship to the body and the base. The dildo on the other hand looks more regular in circumference or it just gets progressively bigger like a traffic cone.

Myth 2.

Wearing a butt plug will make your arse stretched forever.

No it will not. Your arse is remarkable elastic... muscles are a wonderful thing. They bounce back at the first opportunity after being dilated by anything. Having said that use of butt plugs before anal sex will make your sphincter muscles a little less resistant to force being gently applied. That is why we wear butt plugs.

Myth 3.

The plug will fall in or out and it needs a harness to keep it in place.

Yes it will, depending on the type of plug. Ideally you want something that has a reasonable circumference, a narrow waist and a wide base.  If you use one that does not have a wide enough base all things are possible in the loss department because that external sphincter muscle is contracting regularly to keep you continent. The reason why Njoys are so popular with long term wearers, apart from the fact that they are easy to clean, is that the bases make it very hard to fall in and the shape makes it hard for them to come out... well unless you have one that has just been popped back in after anal sex. Again the arse will bounce back to hold it in place given a little time.

Myth 4.

Wearing a butt plug will cause incontinence.

The first thing that needs to be addressed here is the fact that there are two sets of sphincter muscles. The internal sphincter muscle is an involuntary group that responds to fear and anxiety and is quite different to the external sphincter, which is voluntary and unusual in that its natural state is contracted closed. They work in conjunction with a complex nerve system. If they, or the nerves, are damaged they work in very different ways. When the internal sphincter is damaged you will have bowel motions without realising it is happening, unlike the external ones where you will experience the need to find a bathroom... quickly.

Now unless they are actually damaged by something like constipation, disease or rectal prolapse, they will do their job because they bounce back when not stretched open. All a butt plug does is make anal sex easier... it is not a magic wand. You will still have to relax, use lube to prevent damage, masturbate or whatever you need to do to get them to relax enough for penetration.

Myth 5.

Wearing butt plugs will cause a rectal prolapse.

Now this one is a little tricky... No one seems to be sure, at least it hasn't been studied. Rectal prolapse is caused by many things; age, constipation, child birth, anal sex. Now having said that there is no evidence that men* who have anal are more likely to get rectal prolapse than the rest of the population, which leads one to postulate that there may be an underlying issue that is the actual cause and anal just exacerbates the issue.

Now in the case of plugs no one has done any studies... perhaps it might be an interesting thing to do. In part this may be that long term wearing is relatively new due to the advent of metal and glass plugs. There is a school of thought that Kegels will help and that doing it with a plug in place will help strengthen what is a rather weak muscular system. Again this is theoretical as no one has done studies... yet.

All one can say is so far so good... and mention that no one has come forward to claim otherwise.

Myth 6.

Bleeding is bad.

Again it can be. Occasionally anal sex can cause bleeding, the area is quite delicate. It can rip and tear during anything. Where it is a problem is if it doesn't stop after about 15-20 minutes. Then you need to go to the doctors because you can get fissures. Don't be shy. Just go. They have seen it all before and frankly you can get a fissure from a compacted bowel motion. It can be repaired.

In the case of butt plugs they generally help stop this happening... provided you use lube in the beginning and aren't just ramming the damn thing home... while making sound effects. That last one is optional.

Myth 7.

Things like tiger balm, Vicks and Icy Hot are acceptable forms of lube.

 Yeah, no they are not. Again the area is rather thin and fragile. Using those items actually thins the area further and... it's not pretty. While it might be fun to watch someone squirm around once in a while, it is not a suitable replacement for real lube.

* Having said that it is also worth noting those studies were done on gay men in comparison to the rest of the population... 'cos we all know straight guys don't like anal... cough, cough.