Medical play is a type of BDSM play which involves medical scenarios, procedures and practices. It’s a relatively common kink – so common, in fact, that you can see traces of it in popular culture: things like the “sexy nurse” outfits everyone wears at Halloween andDr FrankNFurterfromThe Rocky Horror Picture Show.
It’s no coincidence that most examples of medical play in popular culture straddle the line between sexy and scary. Medical play can be kind of intense. It involves blood and sharp things and maybe (if you’re lucky) things going in the arse. It’s frightening (and therefore fun and exciting) stuff.
If you have even the faintest inkling that you might be into medical play, here’s what you need to know to explore.
♦ Why do people enjoy medical play?
There are many reasons why people enjoy engaging in medical play. Here are a few of them…
It’s a form of power play we all find familiar
We’ve all seen a doctor at some point. It’s a familiar situation. And it’s one of the few familiar situations in everyday life where someone else wields a great deal of power over us.
Your doctor (hopefully) knows way more than you about the human body. If they say you need a rectal exam, an xray, along period of enforced chastity… well, who are you to argue?
Medical professionals have power over us in a very real way. That’s something we know and accept… and so it can be a lot of fun to explore a darker version of that power relationship through fantasy.
It involves interesting pain
As a sadist, I’ve always enjoyed exploring forms of pain other than spanking. Don’t get me wrong: spanking is great. But there areso manyother interesting ways to hurt someone.
Dabbling in medical play opens up many opportunities to explore interesting pain. You can enjoy (or enjoy subjecting your partner to) needles, enemas, icecold speculums, staples, and many other things beside. What a lot of fun possibilities to explore!
It can be humiliating or embarrassing
In the course of a medical play examination a patient might be stripped naked, probed in every orifice, subjected to a series of intrusive questions, examined intimately, and discussed at length as though they’re not in the room. Medical play is a great vehicle for humiliation, degradation and dehumanisation.
You get to play mad scientist with your body
Your body is a strange, powerful, endlessly interesting vessel. By subjecting it to a wide range of experiences, you’ll come to understand it better… and may even discover some weird but fascinating easter eggs.
For example, you might find that needle play makes you drift off into a pleasant state of drowsy subspace… something you can’t access any other way. Or you might find that an enema is actually something you enjoy and want to do on a regular basis for entirely nonsexual reasons.
Exploring is good and worthwhile for its own sake… and medical play is an excellent way of exploring.
♦ Staying safe during medical play
Each medical play procedure has its own risk vs reward profile, and you should be aware of this before engaging. Here are some risks, and advice on how to avoid them.
Infection
Any time you break skin, you risk an infection. To minimise the risk of an infection use only singleuse sterile equipment, or equipment which has been sterilised before use. Learn how tocare for wounds, have a wellstockedfirst aid kitto hand, and consult a medical professional (a real one) if you think a wound might be infected.
Scarring
With any procedure that breaks or damages the skin, scarring is a possibility. Good wound care will help wounds and incisions heal neatly and without infection, and thus minimise the chances of noticeable scars down the road.
If you do end up with scars,products like biooilare commonly believed to help speed up the healing process.
While you can minimise the severity of scarring, and quicken the healing process,there’s no way to avoid the possibility of scarring altogether. Before engaging in any play that breaks the skin you should consider the possibility that you’ll end up with some modest scars. If that possibility is devastating to you, you should rethink engaging in this type of play.
Fluid sharing
A lot of medical play involves bodily fluids. Blood, piss, come, spit. For the most part these are nothing to be squeamish about. However, it’s worth bearing in mind that they can play a part in the transmission of viruses.
To mitigate this risk, you could make sure you know the medical history of everyone you play with… something which isn’t always practical, given that most people barely know their own medical history.
A more realistic approach is to treat bodily fluids as potentially infectious, and use gloves andother protective gearto keep yourself and your partner safe… choosing only to share bodily fluids with people you know and trust.
Accidental wounding
Many of the medical play procedures described here make use of sharp things: needles, scalpels, staples and so on. When using anything with a sharp point, there’s always a risk of accidentally cutting or sticking yourself, or cutting or sticking your partner somewhere you didn’t intend to cut or stick them.
The best way to address this is by staying organised. Keep needles and blades capped until you’re ready to use them. Retain the cap and put it back on when you’re done. Dispose of used needles and blades inan appropriate sharps bin,and dispose of that bin properly (usually by taking it to a local pharmacy) when you’re done.
Electricity
Some medical play procedures involve the application of electricity. Most types of electrical play are, relatively speaking, quite safe… but that doesn’t mean they’re without risk.
Avoid electrical play anywhere near the heart. Avoid electrical play with anyone with a heart condition. Keep things organised and unplug devices when they’re not in use. Be patient and sensible, and get familiar with equipment before you use it.
♦ Medical role play vs medical procedures
Some people enjoy the dynamics which surround medical play – the power imbalance between doctor and patient, the ritual of snapping on a pair of gloves, the smell and temperature and texture of a medical bed. If this stuff is fun for you, then roleplay is likely to be a significant element of your play.
It’s just as legit, of course, to not be fussed about creating an atmosphere or inhabiting a role. You and your partner(s) may simply enjoy sticking each other with needles or wrapping each other in bandages. If this stuff is the main show for you, you’ll find some great ideas in the medical play techniques section below.
For most people, of course, it’s a mix of scenario and procedure that they find most appealing.
♦ An index of medical roleplay scenarios
Here are some medical role play scenarios you might enjoy exploring…
Alien abduction
The dominant partner is an alien overlord. The submissive partner is their helpless abductee… ready to be stripped naked, strapped down and subjected to a bewildering and humiliating series of probes, jabs, examinations and other experiments.
Suggested activities:sensory deprivation, anal probing, restraints, numbing spray or tingling lube, temperature taking, bright light in the eyes, squeezing and prodding, electrical play, foul tasting medicine, a thorough inspection.
The sperm donor
The dominant partner is a specialist doctor or nurse. The submissive partner has unwittingly entered into an agreement to be milked for their precious sperm. After a thorough health check and a period of chastity (to get that sperm count nice and high) they are duly strapped down and milked for every last drop.
Suggested activities:use of chastity devices, prostate play, a thorough examination, milking with a TENS machine, medical restraints, numbing sprays.
Experimental test subject
The dominant partner is a scientist carrying out an unauthorised clinical trial. The submissive partner is their unwitting test subject. They are put through a series of increasingly invasive and increasingly painful tests, and forced to provide feedback after each one.
Suggested activities:cutting, needles, medical restraints, dental play, gagging, numbing sprays, disposable lancets, enemas, speculum play, observations.
A visit to the doctor
The dominant partner is a doctor or other medical professional, poised to carry out a series of tests or treatments on the submissive partner. They may be caring and attentive or brusque and domineering as desired.
Suggested activities:observations, temperature taking, bandaging, forced exercise, enemas, inspection, needles and anaesthesia play.
The vet
The dominant partner is a vet. The submissive partner is a pet or other animal who has wound up on their table.
Suggested activities:restraint using harnesses or leash, use of a muzzle, a rough and ready inspection, soothing time with a dog toy, a bath if necessary, shaving off of fur, temperature taking, bandaging, some time in a cage while waiting for a diagnosis.
The dentist
The dominant is a dentist (perhaps a depraved dentist, inspired by Little Shop of Horrors) and the submissive is their patient. Strapped down to the chair, they’ll be subjected to an extensive orallyfocussed torture session.
Suggested activities:rubber gloves, use of a dental gag, testing of the gag reflex, a bright light in the eyes, pinching and pulling the tongue, some foultasting mouthwash, extensive probing of the mouth, mock anaesthesia.
