Swinging, Sex, and Stds?

[NymphoWind]

Well this topic is probably pretty talked about, anyways i understand that having sex in general outside of the swinger lifestyle contracting a Std is possible, but how goes Swinging, especially with some couples picking out strangers for playmates, isn't the risk of contracting a STD high if not higher inviting single males/females?

[slevin]

Why would a couple meeting a single man or woman and having sex with them be any more risky than a single man or woman meeting another single man or woman and having sex?

It's not like you have to go to a club, find a guy who is attractive and walk up to him and start having sex! Do it at your own pace. We like to spend at least a little bit of time with people to get a sense of what they're like before we hop into bed with them. We go with out guts on reading people, but this doesn't do much to protect us from STDs. There is always going to be a risk of an STD, even if you ask them if they are clean. Even if you see a clean STD test, it isn't going to be fool proof. Most STD tests only test for the common STDs that are easy to test for (hint, herpes is not one of them).

Is there a risk of catching an STD? Absolutely. Is it worse than with a single having sex with another single? No.

Do a few searches, there have been a number of threads on STDs lately (especially a number about herpes). Good times has given some great advice in those threads (and other older ones as well). I've tried to jump in with some advice where I can as well, but Good times definitely covers off just about everything that can be said on the subject!

[celtic239]

I know this may sound illogical but I believe that there is more of a chance of contracting an STD as a sexually active single then when swinging as a couple. The reason for this statement, from what I can see, is that the majority of swingers are generally confined to a geographical area. Most couples hook up at a swingers club. I would imagine that once a couple contracts an STD and they party once every couple of weeks or so then the word will get out to those in that community and the source of the outbreak may be easily indentified and proper safeguards taken.
There is no way to do that type of "self-policing" doing the singles scene. Another protective measure is that while one person knowing that he/she has an STD may not divulge this to a playmate, the chances that both the husband and the wife are going to keep this a secret are pretty slim.

[IvoryTowers]

Originally Posted by NymphoWind

especially with some couples picking out strangers for playmates, isn't the risk of contracting a STD high if not higher inviting single males/females?

You seem to be asking two questions here: 1) Is the risk of contracting an STD higher when swinging with strangers? and Is the risk of contracting an STD higher when swinging with singles (as opposed to couples I assume)?

As to the former, define "stranger"? Anyone gets an STD by sleeping with an infected partner (and either not using protection or having that protection fail). Not knowing a stranger means you don't know if he/she has a disease. But how many people cheat and pick up disease that they then pass on to their unsuspecting spouses?

Certainly, knowing the person really well cuts down on the risk, as you are more open. But I think condoms are more effective.

As to your second question, I guess there is a slightly better chance that a single person would have a higher risk of STD. If a couple only plays with other couples, you have two people who are always in on the decision making process, two people who have to approve and say "yes" and two people who can show signs of a disease (many men can be asymptomatic but women rarely are).

OTOH, a single person might (stress might) be more likely to make a poor or alcohol-fueled decision, forgo protection "this one time" and then not have to answer to anyone immediately. I can imagine a perfectly nice guy going to a non-swinging event, getting lucky and having unprotected sex with a woman, picking up a disease and not realizing it. Two weeks later, he's at a swing club, he meets a nice couple and it doesn't occur to him to say "by the way, two weeks ago, I had unprotected sex" because he has no symptoms.

Let me stress that I think this is a very SLIGHT possibility, that most single people who are seriously involved in swinging are very intelligent about their choices (because they actually have them) and the raised risk is minor. But I could see how it would be a bit higher.