Can you get an STI from a used sex toy ?

Do you mean when sharing a toy during sex, or when buying a used toy ?

Buying vs. Sharing

Buying a sex toy second hand is quite a new thing, so most of the current answers you read online are all about the risks of sharing a toy in the heat of the moment during a sex session, not about buying one second-hand – one that has been cleaned first, disinfected or sterilized, and then packaged up, and sent by post to you.

Everyone has an opinion, or an agenda.

If you ask everyone, you´ll get answers all the way from a yes depending to a no depending. And still, you´re none the wiser, really. Believe me, we have circled the internet and asked around – everyone has an opinion, or an agenda !

And are you even asking the right questions ? This article is about buying a used sex toy, and we´ve used the officials and experts to provide the answers,  but if you want to know what they say about the risks of sharing one during sex, jump to the answer here. We have a couple of blog posts that might be useful – What makes a sex toy body-safe, and an FAQ covering some of the more common questions.

Myth vs. Fact

In the great echo chamber that is the internet, some detail gets lost, and a general opinion just hangs around with no real purpose. And we´re left asking – are the risks actually real any more, or just perceived ? When discussing this very subject, verywellhealth.com states the difference for us.

We all take risks with germs every day, and more when we go to public places, to hospitals, or have any invasive procedures. So the medical community have this covered, and are monitoring it all the time. Like a dog with a bone, we were determined to get to the facts.

Ask the right questions. Get the full story. Listen to the experts.

If we´re all grown-up enough to play with sex toys, we need to get practical about this really important subject.

We´ll get right down to the nitty-gritty here, with some really specific questions, to see what the medical specialists, the official government or health organisations say about this.

ThIS medical answer tells us first, that if you´re buying one, TIME is on your side. Great !

Let´s go deeper – take any risk away – make it clean and sterile

Why ? Because the right cleaning, disinfecting or sterilizing can get rid of any possible germs too. So, even we´ve looked at sexually transmitted infections / diseases, and how the experts say you can kill them off surfaces. Remember always clean first, then sanitize, then disinfect, then sterilize. Also, remember that toys made of non-porous materials ( e.g. silicone, glass, metal ) will be easier to clean thoroughly. You can jump to our HOW TO CLEAN A USED SEX TOY post for more details.

Let´s summarize.

How to avoid getting germs from a sex toy.

1. Know the possible STIs. Face it, even if the risk is tiny.

2. Learn how long they last outside the human body.

3. Discover what kills them ( if time has not already done the job for you ).

What are the STIs / STDs ?

What about the risks,  when sharing a sex toy during a sex session.

Of course, if you´re taking a sex toy straight of one body and putting it into another within minutes then YES, there´s a risk, if one of you has an infection, that it can be passed on. If you´re going to share toys, or have more than one partner, you know there are going to be associated risks ! The safest thing to do is cover it in a fresh condom every time you use it.

¨If sex toys are used with new, clean condoms for each partner, or are properly cleaned (i.e., disinfected) before use by the uninfected partner, they pose a negligible risk of transmission. Note that using the same condom with both partners is effectively the same as not using one at all.¨

Source: https://www.aidsmap.com/about-hiv/sex-toys-and-risk-hiv-transmission

Another time people ask about the risks, is when they want to borrow a sex toy from a friend.

Remember, time can be on your side here too. And, they´re also probably handing it to you in-person, so don´t be embarrassed to ask when it was last used, and if it´s been cleaned or sterilized. How about just cleaning it yourself when you get it anyway, and suggest to your friend that you would like to disinfect it properly, or sterilize it before you give it back, as a thank-you, or out of common courtesy. It´s their toy and they will have the manufacturer´s instructions so ask them how would they prefer you to do it.

We all need to get in the way of thinking like this. One of the better aspects of Covid-19, I suppose, has been that cleansing and sterilizing has become second nature to us.

Again, if you´re too shy to discuss this with your friend, then the safest thing to do here is to cover it in a fresh condom before you use it.

Be grown up, know your partners, clean a toy before you use it, or use a condom to avoid spreading germs, or getting pregnant even, in the heat of the moment. 

There is no “heat of the moment” when a seller lists (global listings) 

a toy on Squeaky Clean Toys.

If you buy a second-hand toy from Squeaky, we ask the embarrassing questions for you 😉

Our sellers have to answer questions about the condition of the toy, and how it has been cleaned.

It´s a serious, transactional, non-sexual business.

Read more about how to clean sex toys in our other blog article imaginatively titled How to clean a sex toy .

We also have a couple of blog posts for both buyers and sellers, How the marketplace works and FAQs.

The Squeaky Blog