What's the deal with anal sex and how can you stay safe when you're having it? I'm Dr Rena
Malik urologist and pelvic surgeon and today we're going to talk all about anal sex. Anal
sex is the process of inserting a penis into the anus of another partner and people often engage in
anal sex for sexual pleasure or because they want to avoid an unwanted pregnancy and it's becoming
more and more common among young heterosexual couples in the United States they estimate that
about 37 percent of men and 30 percent of women have engaged in anal sex and when compiling much
research together it's estimated that about 10 percent of sexually active women regularly
engage in anal intercourse some people find anal sex to be more intimate than vaginal intercourse
or other forms of sex some enjoy the variety or novelty of anal sex others find Joy or excitement
in doing something that's more taboo or forbidden other people enjoy the control or domination that
they perceive during anal intercourse and others enjoy kind of the pain slash pleasure Sensation
that they feel with anal sex and lastly some people just do it as a part of their relationship
with their partner and interestingly anal sex in particular in between heterosexual couples
has been depicted as far back as 300 A.D these were specifically seen on Peruvian pots and in
the 16th and 19th centuries it was seen in Chinese hand Scrolls and prints and then later in French
lithography and photography in the 19th and 20th centuries so it's been happening for a long time
so is anal sex safe yes when done correctly and safely it can be very very safe but what are the
things that you need to know to have safe anal sex well first and foremost you want to make sure
you and your partner are on the same page that requires communicating with them and sometimes
it's not always just verbal communication you want to pick up on their body language and
their cues to really understand if they really want to participate in this or they're kind of
feeling a little bit forced also the anal Canal does not make its own lubrication so you need a
lot of lubricant I've made an entire video about lubricants but things that you should know is that
the pH for the anus is different than the pH for the vagina which is why water-based lubricants
typically are designated as lubricants for anal sex it's also important to know that water-based
lubricants dry out and you may need to reapply other options are silicone based or oil-based
why would you need to use a condom there's no risk of pregnancy with anal sex I've talked
about this before in a video about the only FDA approved condom for anal sex is that anal
sex can put you at risk for sexually transmitted infections and this is a serious problem because
very few people are actually using condoms with anal sex and anal sex the anal tissues
and the lining of the rectum is very very thin and friable meaning that it easily bleeds and
then you can be exposed to each other's bodily fluids like blood which can transmit sexually
transmitted infections including HIV HPV syphilis gonorrhea chlamydia so if you are not sure about
your partner's STI status or you want to protect yourself It's always important to use a condom
you can also use a dental dam when using oral to anal intercourse and no matter whether you use
a condom or not always use sufficient lubricant because you want to make sure the experience is
not only comfortable but it's also safe also make sure if you go from anal to vaginal on penetration
that you change condoms take off the condom that you use for anal penetration and use a new condom
for vaginal penetration so what about using toys very often when you're starting to foray
into anal intercourse or anal play it's often recommended to start with something smaller than
a phallus so using a lubricated finger or a sex toy what kind of toys can you use safely in the
anus well there are very specific things that are marketed for anal intercourse that usually have a
flared base or a some sort of ring or string at the back that you can easily pull out the
device that you're inserting so those are the ones you want to use there are so many things
on the market like butt plugs anal beads dildos but you again want to make sure that these are
designated for anal play you definitely don't want to use something that might be used for vaginal
play that doesn't have a flared bass because unfortunately these things can get lost in the
rectum and you don't want to spend your fun kinky sexy night in the ER because you lost your sex toy
also after you've used any sort of toy for anal play make sure you sanitize that toy before you
use it again if you're ever having pain during anal sex it's really important to stop especially
if you're having significant bleeding or pain that's not going away it's extremely rare but
sometimes anal sex can lead to injuries of the anal sphincter the anal sphincter is the ring
of muscles that surrounds the anus that helps control bowel movements and if that's injured
you can develop things like fecal incontinence or accidents with stool again this is extremely
rare but these things only happen when you're having unsafe anal sex meaning you're not using
lots of lubricants you're not listening to your body and you're forcing things to move forward
when your body's not ready for it so I hope you guys found this video helpful and so you can go
on and have safe sensual enjoyable anal sex with your consenting partner if you'd like to
look at the FDA approved anal condom check it out in the description below below and please
stay safe stay healthy as always I'm going to take care of yourself because you're worth it [Music]