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| INFORMATION |
| Introduction Asphyxiaphilia, auto-erotic asphyxiation (if solo play), breath games, breath-play, hypoxyphilia. Games involving control or restriction of air and/or the supply of oxygen to the brain. Strangling is usually the compression of the carotid arteries to prevent oxygenated blood reaching the brain; suffocation involves reducing the level of oxygen in the air available to breathe. Hanging, where the body is suspended by the neck, though a relatively common fantasy, is very difficult to stage in a non-harmful way for SM scenes: remember that judicial hanging was intended to break the spine, not cause death by suffocation. All these games are very dangerous to play alone, and may also be dangerous if with a partner. There are 2 different operations here, (1) is cutting off the flow of air, and (2) is interfering with the supply of blood to the head and brain. Breath control is used to include any game involving control or restriction of oxygen to the brain, whether by interfering with the breath directly or through pressure on the carotid arteries supplying oxygenated blood to the brain. The sexual interest in this has been named Asphyxiaphilia and when carried out as a solo scene it is labeled autoerotic asphyxiation. Obviously one of the most potentially dangerous SM activities, requiring responsibility, trust and scrupulous safety practice. Please read the general notes on risks and safety before you even consider proceeding. The greatest danger is from playing alone: oxygen restriction can rapidly lead to loss of consciousness and if you pass out with your breathing still restricted brain damage and death will rapidly follow with you unable to do anything about it. Unless you have a 100% reliable failsafe system that will remove the restriction should you pass out, always and only, play with a totally trustworthy partner. What's the Thrill? Breath control is the one activity most BDSM folks would unhesitatingly place in the otherwise controversial category of 'edge play'. And with good reason: a constant supply of fresh oxygen and the ability to dispose of carbon dioxide are both vital to the functioning of the body. Deprive the brain of oxygen for as little as twelve minutes and you have a human vegetable on your hands, not to mention the irreparable damage to brain and heart that will already have been done. So those who play with breath are literally only minutes away from playing with death. And that, of course, is part of the thrill for many people. You don't have to know consciously that what you're doing is dangerous, because all your body's reflexes are screaming it at you. Put the back of a crooked forefinger over your windpipe, in the middle of the angle where your neck joins your chin, and push up and back very gently. It takes hardly any pressure to feel very uncomfortable indeed. Try it on someone else and they will certainly try to remove your hand without even thinking about it. There are all kinds of things people might get out of breath control. You may find there is a sensual pleasure in just the fact of having their breathing restricted, or enjoy the way it underlines the sense of enclosure when using a mask or hood. And it is the ultimate trust game, with the bottom literally putting their life in their top's hands. Breath control may be used in moderation to introduce an element of vulnerability or danger into the scene. However some people pursue it to the point of near or actual unconsciousness, and enjoy the resulting psychological 'altered state'. Some people assume, having heard that male victims of hanging ejaculate spontaneously in their final moments, that there is a direct connection between breath restriction and sexual response. The assumption is mistaken, however: modern judicial hanging causes death not by strangulation but by snapping the spinal cord, and it is the resulting trauma to the nerves that produces the ejaculation. Nonetheless, the command to a bottom that they will not get their oxygen supply back until they come is often remarkably efficacious in producing a rapid orgasm. Ways to Play Restricting Breathe Intake Hands On a restrained subject this can easily be achieved using hands to pinch shut the nostrils and block off the mouth, the latter either by placing a palm all the way across the mouth. If the hand doesn't cover the mouth completely when the bottom gapes, you will have to try holding the jaw shut by pushing upwards, but don't put too much pressure on. Alternatively you can use other means to block off either mouth or nostrils: pegs (clothespins), gags, tape and so on. The advantage of using hands directly is that they are responsive and the obstruction can be moved immediately. Queening Other parts of the body can be used. One activity that combines more direct physical eroticism with breath control is queening, where a female top kneels over the bottom's head, gripping the head with her legs and blocking off the nose and mouth with her cunt. It is slightly more difficult, though achievable, to do this with the area of the asshole. Airtight Masks And Hoods Used with some form of air inlet that can be controlled can be a thrill just to wear. Using hands over the inlet will allow subtle gradations of restriction and also give easy and safe release. Gas masks are ideal since they are usually reliably made with a large, easy-to-locate inlet; anesthetists' masks can also be employed. Leather/fetish suppliers make a wide range of purpose-built hoods, usually from rubber, but be very careful to check their integrity before playing, especially ones with a very restrictive inlet, and think carefully about how easy they are to get off. Keep a pair of big blunt-ended scissors handy as an emergency measure. Tanith Tyrr (1996) advises that all such restrictions should be able to be removed in a second or less, and that full blockages should not be of any more than ten seconds duration. Re-Breathing Or Suffocation This involves breathing into an airtight reservoir so that the amount of oxygen in the air gradually decreases. Simplest form is a polyethylene bag held over the head, easily removed and giving the odd sensation of being able to see the surroundings almost as normal while the oxygen runs out. Purpose made fetish devices include breathing tubes linked to a valved re-breathe bladder as used in anesthesia. Or simply hold your noses and breathe in and out of each other�s mouths for a while. Strangulation and Carotid Pressure Blocking the trachea (windpipe) by pressing on it from the outside is highly dangerous and could result in all kinds of inadvertent damage; it really is something to be attempted only by those fully aware of the anatomy and of what they are doing. Most techniques involving pressure on the neck do not block the breathing but instead work on the carotid arteries, the main conduits of oxygenated blood to the brain. This is the secret of the unconsciousness-producing chokeholds in various forms of self-defense. The procedure for finding the carotid artery is explained in every first aid manual, because it is one of the easiest sites for taking a pulse. 'With the head tilted back, feel for the Adam's apple with two fingers. Slide your fingers back towards you into the gap between the Adam's apple and the strap muscle [the easily identifiable muscle running up the side of the neck from the shoulder blade to the hinge of the jaw] and feel for the carotid pulse' (St John Ambulance et al 1992:29). A surprisingly gentle amount of pressure on here can rapidly produce unconsciousness and permanent damage will result if it is maintained. As well as using the hands, some people use blood-pressure tourniquets around the neck, but very gently. Hanging Hanging is an object of fascination for some people but is very dangerous to achieve 'safely' in a SM context. Though in modern 'humane' hanging, death is supposedly instantaneous, resulting from the spinal cord snapping when the bodyweight suddenly jerks at the end of the rope, strangulation played a part in the past: for example, those sentenced to be hung, drawn and quartered would be taken down while still alive. The difficulty of controlling the amount of compression and the strain on other delicate structures was not so much of a problem for mediaeval executioners. Their victims were intended to die as painfully as possible anyway, but in a non-fatal SM context makes this a very dangerous game indeed, especially in solo play. The authorities regularly record cases of death by autoerotic asphyxiation involving hanging, and it's likely quite a few supposed suicides are attributable to this too. The Ultimate Breath Control? The drug curare, an extract from a plant native to the Amazon region and traditionally used there as a coating on blowpipe darts, is a powerful paralyzing agent that prevents the lungs from working. Synthetic versions of the drug are used in surgery to keep the patient still on the operating table, and while the drug is active the function of the lungs is taken over by an external ventilation pump. The patient is usually unconscious while the drug is active but there is no reason in principal why this should be the case. Obviously medical staff train for years in order to accomplish this sort of thing safely and no-one in their right mind would suggest incorporating it into an SM scene, but it could provide food for thought for those into fantasizing about such things. Breathe Control, Risk and Safety A Discussion Of The Issues Some writers have argued that it's impossible to do any sort of BC safely. Jay Wiseman, author of the SM101 reference book, has stoked controversy with his claims that all forms of BC put the bottom 'at imminent, unpredictable risk of dying'. And when Checkmate published a piece on the subject by an enthusiast (Williamson 1994), they felt obliged to include an accompanying piece from their medical consultant warning not to do it (Tattoodoc 1994). So what is the truth? Physiologically speaking, the body needs oxygen for the chemical reactions that power our cells, and it also needs a way of getting rid of carbon dioxide, a product of those reactions. Normally breathing satisfies both needs: oxygen from the air is drawn into the lungs where it dissolves into the blood, while carbon dioxide is released and exhaled. Obstructing either of these processes results in the rapid build-up of acid in the blood, with damaging consequences. It will also trigger a number of the body's 'emergency procedures', and these can cause problems of their own. When the heart gets short on oxygen, it starts to fire off cells that cause extra contractions. According to Wiseman, as long as the oxygen is restricted, there is a chance that one of these will occur at the wrong phase of the cycle, potentially causing a heart attack. The lower the oxygen gets the greater the risk. Unfortunately there is no reliable way of telling when the extra contractions start even with a cardiac monitor. Wiseman's critics claim his argument is based on untested hypotheses, though anyone with an elementary knowledge of physiology would have to admit that depriving the heart of oxygen, or hypoxia, places this vital organ under unusual stress. However it seems reasonable to assume that the heart can cope with at least some hypoxia without taking panic measures. Exercise puts pressure on the oxygen supply, and undersea swimmers can develop the ability to hold their breath for minutes with no apparent ill effects. Like everything else, general health will have an impact too. Those with heart and respiratory conditions are almost certainly best advised to avoid breath play. Another result of hypoxia is fainting, which rapidly follows from a drop in oxygen to the brain. Such a drop can happen naturally when inactive for a long time so that blood pools in the lower body: by shutting down consciousness, the body is likely to fall into a horizontal position, making it easier to pump blood to the brain. Most people into BC probably don't go as far as loss of consciousness, but for some it's the ultimate thrill. The risk of unconsciousness in all BC play is the main reason for the best-known safety rule: if you do play, don't play alone. The vast majority of BC-related deaths estimated at least 1 per year per million of population or 250 in the US, 60 in the UK -- are due to solo play. Warnings that a faint is about to occur, such as ringing in the ears and tunnel vision, come only seconds beforehand, which may not be enough time to escape. If you must play alone, do it with blocking an air source with your hand in such a way that if you faint the hand will fall away and leave the airway open. Bondage and BC in a solo scene are a lethal combination. You can cause a faint without restricting the airway at all, by placing pressure on the carotid artery. Some BC fans claim carotid pressure is the safest way to produce unconsciousness since it avoids any pressure on the vulnerable throat and windpipe. Details of how to deal with a faint can be found under First Aid. Though victims of a faint are confused and distressed when they first come round (a fact those planning such a scene should bear in mind), recovery is usually rapid and complete, and an occasional faint in everyday life is regarded as medically insignificant. The biggest danger is striking the head while falling, easily avoided in a planned scene. Provided a normal air supply is immediately restored (which of course it should be), the loss of consciousness is temporary. According to medical sources, the brain can withstand three minutes of oxygen deprivation before serious damage occurs, but opponents of BC argue that cumulative brain damage can result from repeated forced unconsciousness. It's well known that low level or repeated oxygen deprivation (from, say, high altitudes or in certain medical syndromes where patients' breathing ceases intermittently during sleep) can cause brain damage. Hypoxia destroys neurons (brain cells), which in adults are the only cells in the body that can't be replaced. Wiseman has cited the case of a judo instructor who may have been brain-damaged by frequent sessions as a demonstration model for the carotid strangulation techniques traditional in his sport. Checkmate's consultant Tattoodoc points out that the cerebral cortex is the most demanding of oxygen, so hypoxia 'affects the highest centers of the brain first'. To get this in perspective, we have many billions of neurons, and the brain can work with far less than its natural endowment. They are destroyed all the time by aging, alcohol, drugs, blows to the head and so on. It might be rational to decide to 'spend' some of our generous but finite supply on activities we enjoy, but spend carefully. Like anything else in SM, sensible play requires a calculation of risks against pleasures, and the minimizing of whatever risks you can. For example, some BC enthusiasts report that a second attempt at causing unconsciousness during a session requires a much longer period of oxygen deprivation, which increases the danger time for neurons, and is also not so satisfying. Rationing the amount of this sort of play to special occasions with substantial gaps in between might be advisable both in terms of brain conservation and pleasure! And given the dangers, its worth asking yourself, "How far you actually need to go�. And, if you would be satisfied with Tanith Tyrr's advice (1996) to 'play it out as a fantasy or fetish, talk up the verbal aspects a lot, and go light on the actual doing of the deed.' The idea of breath control is scary enough and a little may go a long way in the context of a well-played mind game. If you play heavier, treat the practical safety aspects with extra-deadly seriousness, and seriously consider a course in first aid and CPR, which if anything does go wrong may increase your chances at least slightly. Even Wiseman doesn't demand people stop playing with BC, just that they be aware of what he sees as the neglected dangers. The fact remains that for some people asphyxiation is a compelling fascination and they are going to experiment anyway. Hysteria and blanket bans stifle the discussion, and increase the chances of some poor lonely pervert enjoying a rather-too-ultimate orgasm. RULES DON'T PLAY ALONE! DON'T PLAY WITH SOMEONE YOU DON'T COMPLETELY TRUST. Breath control Games. It is easy to cut off the flow of air, crook your index finger (make a fist, then keeping the index finger folded straighten the knuckle joint), now hold the middle joint of your index finger against the bottom of your chin (where it joins your throat). Press, gently, up and back. Now try to breathe, you may have to increase the pressure slightly, but it doesn't take much, does it? Interesting wasn't it? You may wish to try this on your subject. Please note that unless they are securely bound, they will attempt to escape from the pressure (no matter how much Sir wants you to do this). Our reptilian brain's micro-code is quiet emphatic about getting O2 into the lungs and hence to the brain (this is know in the computer biz as a Non-Maskable Interrupt). This is why it takes either a person of improbably great will power, or fooling the bodies autonomic life support systems (not all that hard to do), to hold ones breath until loss of consciousness. It takes a fair amount of time to lower the 02 to levels that no longer support consciousness, by that time the C02 will be so high that the subject will be panting (even if there is no air-path). DON'T PLAY ALONE! Other methods of interfering with airflow are a plastic laundry (dry cleaning) bag, with the hanger hole tied off. Tied around the subject�s neck, you can leave a largish volume of air in the bag to experiment with C02 suffocation, or pull the bag tightly around your subject�s face to produce a very quick reaction. In the latter case the bag allows exhaled air to leave, but doesn't allow any new air in. Gas masks can have the breathing openings closed and opened. Mouths very carefully taped can have nostrils pinched closed. Heads encased in tight discipline helmets that have sealed mouth openings can have air holes blocked (but since you cannot see the subjects face, take great care, as you might not notice loss of consciousness). Under conditions like this I might be best to use a reassurance protocol here. E.g. have the bottom holding your hand and squeezing it on and off regularly. If that stops, or gets dangerously irregular, or it is squeezed very, very fast in succession (i.e. a gagged Safeword call), then stop the scene. DON'T PLAY ALONE! Strangulation Games. It is also easy, and more dangerous, to interfere with the blood supply to the brain, just under the point of the jaw (on each side) is the major artery that supplies blood to the brain. Pressure applied to both of these arteries will produce loss of consciousness in 15 seconds. (it�s what police chokeholds are all about). This is rather boring to the victim (pop and you're out). DON'T PLAY ALONE! A different way, that is usually more interesting, is to apply moderate pressure to the entire neck, near the torso, with a soft scarf, a wide belt or a collar. Watch the face, as you apply pressure it will begin to turn a dark red (this is backed up venous blood, which is easier to block off). Your partner will probably have no trouble breathing (that portion of the trachea is quite strong) and will even be able to describe the sensations to you, if you *slowly* increase the pressure your partner will experience loss of consciousness. Note that this method of inducing loss of consciousness is likely to produce small hemotomas in your partner�s eyes (little red spots where capillaries leaked under the increased pressure). The body senses a drop in O2 in the brain and will attempt to raise the blood pressure in order to compensate. DON'T PLAY ALONE! Hanging games. (Be VERY careful here). Rule 0. DON'T PLAY ALONE! Rule 1. NO DROPS! Not even an inch. Although the human neck is reasonably tough it can be severely damaged by the wrong types of pressures and strains. Rule 2. PAY ATTENTION to your subjects state, a willing partner is difficult enough to find that you don't wish to loose one. If your subject looses consciousness get them down NOW, and make sure you loosen the noose (a proper hangman�s noose is a locking knot, that means that you have to loosen it manually). Rule 3. DON'T repeat DON'T PLAY ALONE! Warnings! DON'T PLAY ALONE, I say again, DON'T PLAY ALONE! Brain damage can begin to occur about 4 minutes after the brain is deprived of O2, brain death occurs around 10-15 minutes later. Please note that heart stoppage will probably occur before this. The largest number of fatal cases (conceivably all but a few (that really were) murders) of autoerotic asphyxia seem to be caused by people playing at this alone. The physiological warnings that 'time is short' (tunnel vision, ringing in the ears) can be followed in only seconds by loss of consciousness. If the warnings come at a time when your 'aware' self is busy with, um... more urgent matters (orgasm for example) you can slip away and then, if things are NOT arranged in a FAILSAFE manner, you will DIE! Best bet: If you are going to play this way, play with someone that you �CAN and WILL� trust your life to. DON'T PLAY ALONE! DON'T repeat DON'T PLAY ALONE! Non-Noose Suspensions. Be careful when using a collar or other stiff neck item as a suspender, they can dig in where least expected. There are suspension collars designed specifically for lifting the body by the head, they are used in physical therapy. Knot Placement. Initially the noose should be snug, if not already a bit tight. If the knot is at the back of the subjects neck, there will be pressure on both of the cartoid arteries, this will probably lead to rapid loss of consciousness, also there will be enough pressure on the front of the neck to totally block off all air. If the knot is placed at the side of the subject�s head (over the ear) and arranged so the running end goes behind the neck and then around to the front, there will be some flow through the cartoid artery under the knot. (The pressure will be on the other side from the knot.) And there will be less pressure on the air-path, so that with some effort the subject will be able to open (at least partly) an air-path -this leads to some interesting gurgling and choking noises, and also to a much longer dance. You don't have to actually suspend your subject to play these games, in fact these games work just as well, and last longer, if the subject actually has his/her toes on the ground (to take pressure off the neck). Non-Suspended Hangings One particularly rewarding method of play is to tightly bind the subject and arrange the noose (as above). Carefully pull the rope until your subject is up on his/her tiptoes, feel how much pressure is on the rope. Then if the subject works some slack into the rope (by tightening the noose via a momentary loss of balance or knee buckling) pull out just that much (in other words keep your subjects on their toes). Of course while one hand is busy with the rope, the other should be busy with your subjects privates. Remember when subjects orgasm they usually loose control of their legs and foot pushing up muscles, now is NOT the time to let go of the rope, after all this is what they've been working towards all along :-). Actual Suspended By The Neck Hangings. If you are going to suspend your subject do it by hoisting them SLOWLY, or by slowly lowering what they are standing on. Ensure that the system can hold the subjects weight, if you weigh as much or more than your subject, grab the rope and dangle from it your self, if not have your subject do it, kick your feet, HARD, a lot. You don't want this to slip and then suddenly stop (see RULE 1). MAKE SURE that there is an easily cut segment of the suspension line in reach, and that you have a SHARP knife on your person. In addition a quick release arrangement (pull to release toggles or such like) is desirable. Any quick release device should be tested under load, several times, before you hang anyone from it. But ALWAYS have an easily cut segment of the rope within your reach, and a sharp knife on your person. Your subject�s life (and subsequently your continued freedom) depends on this. Make sure that there are no knots that will have to pass through pulleys or Eye bolts when the line is released, they can and probably will jam at just the wrong time. Suspended subjects should probably have had their private bits thoroughly worked over BEFORE suspension is started, and a major manipulation should occur as they are being suspended. As in the paragraph on non suspended hangings the subject could be brought to their tip-toes with a tight rope, and then at the appropriate time the box or stool that they are standing on could be removed. A movable (on wheels) stairs is good for this, but it's relatively simple to put some wheels on a small, strong box and to have the subject stand on this (or these if the subject is to have their ankles spread by a spreader bar. Note that unless the spread legs are kept from swinging from side to side, it is likely that one foot may be placed on the floor. Swinging may be stopped by attaching a line between the center of the bar, and the floor directly below it, or by tying a line to each ankle and having it go outwards to the floor or wall. One should probably bind the subject�s feet, spread them with a spreader bar or secure them in some manner. Approaching a hanging person close enough to manipulate the Private bits is liable to find you with some legs wrapped around your body, as the hanged one tries to climb up for some air. Additionally, tied feet cannot kick too hard and endanger the neck. I would strongly recommend against actual physical sex with a person being hung, you will probably become very involved with your own passions and may just miss an important clue as to the well being of your victim. ============================================================ Bibliography 1. Author: Hazelwood, Robert R. Title: Autoerotic fatalities / Robert R. Hazelwood, Park Elliott Dietz, Ann Wolbert Burgess. / Lexington, Mass.: LexingtonBooks, c1983. / Description: xiv, 208 p.: ill. ; 24 cm. Notes: Includes indexes. Bibliography: p. 189-200. Subjects: Autoerotic asphyxia. Autoerotic death. Asphyxia -- Complications. Erotica. Death, Sudden -- etiology. Paraphilias. Other entries: Dietz, Park Elliott. Burgess, Ann Wolbert. 2. Author: Money, John, 1921- Title: The breathless orgasm: a lovemap biography of Asphyxiaphilia / John Money, Gordon Wainwright, David Hingsburger. / Buffalo, N.Y.: Prometheus Books, c1991. / Description: 178 p.; 24 cm. Subjects: Cooper, Nelson -- Mental health. Autoerotic asphyxia -- Patients -- United States -- Biography. Autoerotic asphyxia -- Patients -- Rehabilitation. Psychotherapy. Other entries: Wainwright, Gordon. Hingsburger, David, 1952- |
| "Breathe Control" Author Unknown NOTE: A semi-common kink, Breath control or Asphyxiaphilia, sometimes called erotic asphyxiation or auto-erotic asphyxiation (if solo play), is a topic of hot debate within the leather community. Some say it's impossible to do safely. Yet, others maintain that it's no riskier than some other things we do. The bottom line, however, is that choking or asphyxiation is dangerous, and brain damage, heart attack, or death could result. If you feel compelled to experiment in this area, read the warnings cited here first, and please use extreme care. |
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| Contents: * Introduction * What's The Thrill? * Ways To Play: * Restricting Breath Intake Hands - Queening - Airtight Masks And Hoods * Re-Breathing Or Suffocation * Strangulation And Carotid Restriction * Hanging * The Ultimate Breath Control? * Breathe Control, Risk And Safety: A Discussion Of The Issues * Rules * Warnings Non-Noose Suspensions � Knot Placement � Non-Suspended Hangings � Actual Suspended By The Neck Hangings * Bibliography |