To Belindalevez-ga
Are there any health and safety issues to be aware of in the sex toy
market, it seems from what I have read that silicone is preferred over
rubber, due to bacteria resulting in increased risk of infection -
this is the kind of information I am looking for

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Request for Question Clarification by cynthia-ga on 17 Mar 2003 11:47 PST

I would love to answer your question, and in fact, I have researched
it for you already, however, Google researchers are not allowed to
..."answer questions which are adult content in nature and/or tone...
Google Answers has a general policy of removing content of this
nature..."

If you could email the editors and get approval for me to answer this
question, I do have an answer ready.

--Cynthia

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Request for Question Clarification by missy-ga on 17 Mar 2003 12:17 PST

Obebe,

When directing questions to a specific Researcher in the future, you
might consider putting the name of the Researcher in the Subject line
of the question, as well as in the body of the question, to make it
plain who you are asking.

Cynthia, if you'll look at the question carefully, you'll see that
it's addressed to belindalevez, who has been working rather closely
with obebe on this subject.  He has requested that belindalevez
answer.

--Missy

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Request for Question Clarification by tox-ga on 17 Mar 2003 22:08 PST

Obebe,
I have available detailed answers to your questions if you don't mind
another researcher providing the answer.

Best regards,
Tox-ga

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Request for Question Clarification by tox-ga on 18 Mar 2003 00:42 PST

Obebe,

You seem to have quite a few questions related to this field so the
following contact should be quite helpful to you.  They gather and
provide extensive information, statistics, analyse, etc related to sex
toys and such.  Many successful projects have relied on their data. 
I've used their service at times for analysis of online businesses in
this field and have been very satisfied; great content and listed
reliable sources.  Their 100% satisfaction guarantee secure the
customers' minds as well.  The following address is a direct contact
so that you do not have to waste any time being forwarded or
redirected; it is also the most responsive, helpful contact.
Contact:
Bud  -  wallstreetbud@rogers.com


Best of luck,
Tox-ga

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Request for Question Clarification by belindalevez-ga on 18 Mar 2003 01:22 PST

I apologise for any delay in answering your question. I have contacted
the google editors about this question as they deleted the answer to
your previous question that I posted. I don't know at this stage
whether or not the answer was considered too explicit. I am awaiting
guidelines from the editors and will answer as soon as they get back
to me.

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Clarification of Question by obebe-ga on 18 Mar 2003 02:18 PST

Hi all,(including Google editors)

I'd like to clarify that Obebe and myself (karen) are working from
within an advertising agency on behalf of a client who is looking to
us to research the sex toy market thoroughly with a view to launching
a new range of toy(s).  My colleague Obebe (lady) and myself are not
using your researchers for any titilation and do not require any
information of an adult/X rated nature.  We are looking for
Statistics, demographics, Volumes, Values and any other valuable
research (including medical) around these commodities analysed across
the US, Europe (including UK) and the Far East.

The information I have received from belindalevez-ga has been
extremely useful and has been presented in a very mature and
businesslike manner.  Also Obebe and myself would like to proceed with
this research.  I hope that this clarifies this matter and look
forward to continuing with the research.

Karen

<Most sex toys are made from porous or semi-porous materials like
rubber or vinyl which can harbour bacteria and fungus. These bacteria
and fungus can cause sexually transmitted diseases. The diseases are
explained at this site. http://www.epigee.org/guide/stds.html Some
diseases are deadly and others can lead to sterility. There is a
greater risk of contracting a disease if toys are shared or if they
are used both anally and vaginally.

To prevent the growth of bacteria and fungus, the toys need to be
cleaned before, during, and after use. There are a number of products
on the market specifically for cleaning sex toys. One such product is
called Safe Suds. They can also be cleaned with alcohol, bleach
solutions or anti-bacterial soap.

The effectiveness of cleaning the toys depends on what materials they
are made from. Rubber, vinyl, jelly and cyberskin are difficult to
clean because they are porous. In addition some cleaning products like
bleach cause rubber to disintegrate.

Hard plastic is easy to clean with alcohol.

Silicon is a better material as it is not porous. Products made of
silicon can be sterilised with boiling water.

Acrylic, stainless steel, aluminium and glass are also non-porous and
easy to clean.

Many sites recommend that condoms can be placed on sex toys like
vibrators to prevent them becoming contaminated with bacteria.

Many sites also recommend that sex toys should be dusted with corn
starch as it prevents yeast infections.

Some people have an allergic reaction to rubber products.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/1478148.stm

In the United Kingdom vibrators have been found to have positive
health benefits. Women are being prescribed vibrators on the National
Health Service for a variety of sexual problems.
http://www.observer.co.uk/uk_news/story/0,6903,800992,00.html

According to Columbia.edu, condoms should be used sex toys like
vibrators and they should be cleaned after use with hydrogen peroxide
or bleach.
http://www.columbia.edu/cu/sister/STDs.html

The Go Ask Alice site says that sex toys can be a growth medium for
bacteria and fungus if they are not properly cleaned. Products made of
silicone or latex rubber can be cleaned with a mixture of soap, water
and bleach. http://www.goaskalice.columbia.edu/0705.html>


<Additional links:>

<STD’s
<http://www.thehealthpages.com/articles/ar-stds.html>


<Search strategy:>
<vibrators "sexually transmitted diseases">
<://www.google.com/search?q=vibrators+%22sexually+transmitted+diseases%22&hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8&start=10&sa=N>

<Hope this helps.>

Thankyou for all your help with this - it has helped me produce a
presentation which has gone down very well with the client.

There is a great source of information on sex toys, health and safety
issues at Good Vibrations in San Francisco.  www.goodvibes.com  They
can be reached at 1-800-289-8423