Fire Play Medical Safety

Disclaimer: Fire play is apart of the BDSM community. As such, it is an 18+ activity only. BDSM goes by the age of majority, not age of consent.

Disclaimer 2: I have a graduate degree in public health and work in healthcare, however I do not have a medical degree or nursing degree. This is meant solely for a starting point for education. Please do plenty of research prior to engaging in fire play since it is inherently a very dangerous form of BDSM. Please seek out medical attention immediately if something goes wrong. Please look up safety procedures for handling different types of fire (fire dancing, breathing fire, fire acrobatics, etc.).  

Fire play is just what it sounds like - BDSM participants incorporating fire into their forms of play. It is certainly one of the more dangerous forms of play, since it does involve a very dangerous substance (fire). This article is meant solely as a basic medical introduction to help with any burns that occur during kinky scenes

First some basic fire injuries information: there are three stages of burns. 1st degree is like a sunburn. The first layer of skin is damaged. It leaves a pinkish red color. 2nd degree burns affect the first and second level of skin. It normally leaves some kind of blister. It will hurt quite a bit. Do not pop these blisters. Seek out medical attention. 3rd degree burns are the worst. They burn through all layers or skin. They often burn the nerves as well, leaving a numb sensation. These need medical attention as soon as possible.

Burns dehydrate the body. Do NOT use butter on any kind of burns. Do NOT stick any kind of ointment on the burn without guidance of your medical care team (nurse, doctor, etc.). Aloe vera can be good to treat 1st and 2nd degree burns (PURE aloe). DO NOT stick ice onto burns since it can "shock" the skin and cause further damage. If clothes or other items are stuck to the skin because of the burn DO NOT try to remove them.

What burns depends on the exact kind of treatment. For this reason, if anyone gets a 2nd or 3rd degree burn, the person should report immediately to a local hospital or clinic. 1st and 2nd degree burns can be placed in LUKEWARM (NOT cold) water until the appropriate medical attention has been given to help ease the pain.