Hi all.

Its my first time posting here and what a wonderful site. I think Im going to be popping by quite abit in future.

I have a question Id like to put to you all as im starting to suspect something fishy (pardon the pun).

I am a regular user of sex toys - sorry i hope no one finds that offensive.
I have recently started getting alot of thrush and BV. I follow all of the usual dos and donts for preventing these things such as not douching or using soap or fem products, not sharing toys or dipping back to front blah blah blah so i shouldnt be getting these things. Im not on antibiotics and there is no obvious reason for me to keep getting them.
Initally i was aware i hadnt been cleaning my toys as i should so blamed it on that but now i am scrupulous about washing them after use but i still keep getting thrush and BV.

I know you should replace toys once in a while due to build up of bacteria on certain sex toy materials - think its jelly toys??? so am going to try this and see if it makes a difference but im also reading about pthalates in sex toys. Two of my toys im sure contain alot of phtalates since they pong to the heavens. I know i should of thrown them out ages ago!
Has anyone heard that pthalates or any other common sex toy material can cause thrush or BV?

The only other option is the lube im using but i rarely use that! Im 90% sure its not that.

A girlfriend of mine last night said she gets BV from her sex toys too and this has really got me thinking?

Any views would be greatly recieved.

Hey! AND WELCOME.

To help you out, I think your best bet would be to see a doctor. Yes it will be weird but they can tell you best what is going on and what you can do to prevent it. Also, are you currently sexually involved with anyone....maybe they are transmitting it back to you. And the last thing that I can possibly think of is replacing any toys you have or just any one you have had for a while. But your best bet would be see a doctor and explain your whole situation...everything.

What are you using to clean them? It may not be doing enough to disinfect.
BV is one of those nasty things that can take more than one treatment to cure, so it's possible that you can even be re-infecting yourself by not cleaning the toys properly.

I also agree that you should see a doc if you haven't already.

Perhaps your toys are made of latex and you're allergic? Silicone toys are a better bet, and definitely phalate free!!

Hi ladies.

Yeah Ive wondered if im allergic to latex but i use latex condoms with no problems! or so it seems.

I sterilise all my toys and i dont think u can get cleaner than that!
I will of course bring it up with my health advisor and Dr next time Im at the clinic but I honestly think they will say they dont really know much about sex toys and there make up!
Thats why Im here really to see if anyone else has expreienced anything simialre with their toys.

Maybe Im just getting carried away with all the recent headlines about pthalates in toys and thinking there is more to it than that!.

If one has been watching any news media at all, they are keenly aware that
PVC, a deadly carcinogen chemical is the major ingredient in most sex toys.
I know this is a controversial issues (sex toys), but truth be known, most
use them at one time or another. PVC is killing women. It has recently
been banned by the FTC in ALL children's toys...why not sex toys? I have found two to recommend The Rosebud and Rabbit Habit (not the original Rabbit, it is pure poison as well); one can go to (the oldest most reliable store on the net) and find them; but not all their products are organic so one must type in the sites search engine either Rosebud or Rabbit Habit. (or view both).

Oh, found a discount coupon of 10%, and it works. It asks if you have one at checkout. It is "steamy08". Click on link below and take a look. To use a PVC-laden sex toy is analogous to having unsafe sex with a very promiscuous stranger, actually worse. Good luck and may you always have
"healthy vibes". I also happen to be a board certified sexologist, and realize through years of practice that this is becoming an issue with women. Their toys are hurting them. Thanks for keeping your body safe, and the earth a little cleaner.
Type in Rosebud or Rabbit Habit in their search engine of the link below. Both are 100% organic. (NO PVC!!)

www.babelandaffiliates.com/showban.asp?id=943

Thats abit concerning in itself!
The fact that your a certified sexologist but your facts arent acurate.
Its not PVC itself that is dangerous and have made media attention its the pthaltes that are used to produce PVC and similar substances.
Findings arent conclusive and even a major cancer research foundation - its name escapes me as its a US one and Im a UK citizen has issued a statement saying that pthlates are not responsible for causing cancer.

Obviously its probably safer to stay away from ANYTHING using pthalates as much as possible but since nearly everything has them from cars to nail varnish and hair spray its a difficult one.

For pthalate free sex toys I personally favour fun factory sex toys which are 100% silicone.
Unfortunatly i have a rather old collection of sex toys some of which i fear may contain pthalates. I guess i should throw them all out and start again with toys that i know are 100% safe!