Not The Neck - Never, ever tie anything around your neck or across the front of your neck or in a way which can tighten or pull on the neck. This is extremely dangerous.
Consider what could happen if you fell, slipped or fainted. Could anything in the neck or shoulder area slip, or pull, or tighten? Even something as simple as a collar chained to a fixed point could be lethal if you were to faint and fall. Make sure it couldn't catch or pull and make sure that any fastening rope or chain is PLENTY long enough that if you fall to the floor and still have no tension on the neck area.
The same applies when using hoods, whether made from latex or leather, make sure that the holes that you require to breathe through won't move during your session. Sweat builds up inside the hood and helps lubricate the inside of the hood, creating less friction the hood could move with your thrashing around in the through's of your session.
Avoid Pressure Points - Avoid areas where nerves and veins run close to the skin surface. Tie above and below joints rather than on the joint. Tie wrists facing together rather than facing apart (so the rope doesn't press directly on the veins on the inside of the wrist). Avoid the inner biceps, elbow, inner thighs and backs of the knees. That numbing sensation you feel is your bodies way of telling you that blood flow has slowed or stopped, try getting yourself free when you cannot use your hands when they are numb. I doubt that you can and it can get much worse!
Start Simple - Don't launch straight into a complicated rope suspension. Learn to tie basic stuff first. Suspensions bring a whole raft of new safety issues, and you shouldn't try them until you can tie the simple stuff safely first.
Tie Off Knots - Learn to tie the basic bondage knots which prevents the rope slipping or tightening. Make sure you know how to tie and untie the knots you use, don't vary the knot or add to it at the last moment, this is where mistakes are made and you'll have to cut yourself free.
Not too tight - A very common mistake is to tie the ropes too tight. The "one finger" test is a good start, make sure you can slip a finger under the rope. If tied correctly with ropes in the right places this will still be just as effective and you will be able to hold it for longer and in much greater safety.
Falling Over - The most common cause of accident or injury in self bondage is falling over, whether from the bed to the floor or whilst moving from one area to another or just when tying yourself up and a loss of balance. Trip hazards can be more so when your ankles are tied together, when outside watch for branches and rocks. Take precautions like somewhere soft to land (mattress on the floor), or just start off on the floor.
Staying In Too Long - Some positions are inherently stressful. If you tied your elbows together behind the back, you WILL lose feeling in your hands. It is just a question of whether it takes 30 seconds or 30 minutes. Ropes that are tied too tight or tighten during your session will result in the same loss of feeling, and may cause more permanent injuries.
Losing feeling is not immediately dangerous, but it could be a sign of losing circulation or pressure on nerves which can cause lasting injury. Numbness can mean you don't feel ropes cutting in and doing yet more damage. So don't leave it too long. If you are turning blue or start to get a numb feeling in your limbs or fingers or have got pins and needles start getting out now, while you still can !
Backups - don't just stop at one, things do go wrong, so have a few lined up. NEVER NEVER NEVER go into anything where you don't have at least two backup methods lined up for a sure-fire release. Remember, if you're on your own, and things do go wrong you only have your backups to save you. Don't be stupid, pay attention and use your backups.
Gags - These can be extremely dangerous and also enticing, you've seen the pictures, they look great. But try wearing one for any length of time, worse still get stuck with one in bondage, so try using one on it's own to test how it feels. Make sure that you can breathe through or around the gag, and that it doesn't cut into the skin. A ball gag will almost completely block anything coming out your mouth, this could be deadly if you're feeling sick and wanted to vomit.
Blindfolds - Using one you won't be able to see to release yourself, don't rely on getting if off your head by dragging or any other means than unfastening the buckles or strings. I strongly suggest that you don't use one in self bondage without plenty of practice.
Collars - See above about having items around the neck area, anything that tightens around the neck could restrict your breathing and may lead to fainting or suffocation. Again I strongly suggest you don't use one in self bondage without plenty of experience or playing with another.
Handcuffs - These are covered by their own page here, but basic common sense is to make sure that you can access the key holes, the cuffs are around the right way and are not cutting off your circulation.
Be realistic - being completely immobile for an entire weekend might sound like fun, but remember you're human, you need food, toilet, washing, and cramp is never good, keep it to a few hours, or overnight at the most.
Rope Burn and Whipping Ends - Be careful not to run rope too fast over skin - you can cause rope burn. And be careful not to poke your self in the eye as the end of a rope gets whipped around. These problems are more likely when untying than when tying up, so be extra careful of them then.
What would you do if you need to escape in an emergency ?
- You should always plan before you start to tie yourself up, think of the 'what ifs' and plan what you could do if they happen.
- You should always use a dependable second means of escape - this could be a second person, or have another release method like a second set of keys or scissors.
- Always bear in mind what might happen if the place were to catch fire. Use a smoke detector and never use candles.
- Consider having a phone pre-programmed with the telephone numbers of friends and relatives within reach as well.
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