Sex toys may seem harmless, but many have not been assessed for health risks and could have terrible effects. According to experts, our body may absorb the chemicals in the toys and recent experiments at Duke University found that four different sex toys, including anal toys, beads, dual vibrators, and external vibrators, shed nanoplastic fragments when mechanically rubbed and scraped. What's more, all these sex toys were found to contain phthalates; a group of chemicals that that can damage the liver, kidneys, lungs, and the reproductive system, at high enough concentrations. More research needs to be done to see if adults can absorb these chemicals when using sex toys on permeable tissues but it doesn't sound great. Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter Especially as the United Kingdom lacks specific chemical regulations for sex toys. "Some of the phthalates identified in our experiments have been observed concurrently with serious fertility complications or loss of fertility in rodents at high concentrations," the authors of the study wrote, "though causation may not have been demonstrated, the correlation is concerning enough to warrant further investigation." So next time you think about spicing up your life in the bedroom, take care. Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.