Speaking about anal sex safety, two aspects of the matter should be considered, namely, the psychological and the physical one.
To start with the health issues, anal intercourse is one of the riskiest sexual interactions due to the extreme delicateness of the anus and lower bowel and their high susceptibility to infections. As unlike vagina, rectum does not secrete mucus itself, micro-tears, cuts and other kinds of anorectal injuries are likely without proper lubrication during anal sex. These traumas combined with the rectum's natural function of fluid-absorption considerably reduce anal sex safety possibly leading to the transmission of STDs, such as clamidiosis; gonorrhea; hepatitis A/B/C; syphilis and especially, HIV; and can even lead to such serious diseases as tuberculosis, hemorrhoids or anal cancer.
Moreover, though the rectum usually contains only tiny traces of feces which can be removed for higher anal sex safety with the help of enemas, infectious organisms that are harmless for the bowel can cause bad inflammation of vagina or urethra as well as other health problems if getting onto the skin, mucous membranes or into the mouth. For this reason, it is highly inadvisable to practice ass-to-mouth anal sex, coprophilia or insert the penis, anal sex toys, fingers or other objects into vagina after they've been in the anus without proper disinfection. Condoms, rubber gloves and dental dams, as well as sufficient latex-compatible lubricants and vaccinations are all essential for anal sex safety. It is also recommended that anal sex is not practiced with people whose infection status is unclear and who you cannot put complete trust in, as not only such contacts decrease anal sex safety gravely, but also make the scene development unpredictable on the whole.
Inconsistency, appearing due to the loss by sphincter of its tone, is also a possible result of frequent anal interaction but can usually happen only if general rules of anal sex safety (lubrication and care) are not observed. Kegels or pelvic floor exercises can help prevent the problem, too.
The other side of anal sex safety issue concerns emotional integrity of the practitioners. Forced anal sex or engaging in practice in state of alcoholic or drug intoxication can be very traumatizing of an experience, too. Teen anal sex, especially practiced under the influence of various media popularizing the activity (anal sex movies) or out of the herd instinct can also have a range of profound consequences for the unstable minds of minors.
Yet other people can feel uncomfortable about practicing anal sex due to the social attitude to it as something shameful or indecent.
Thus, knowing anal sex safety is an important precondition for the practice to be painless in every sense of the word. |