Dear Angela: My lover likes food sex games - is it safe to play with veg?

My new lover (41) is very spontaneous in the sex department. He’s always up for new experiences, and I (50) love it.

A few nights ago, we watched a movie where people were playing sex games with whipped cream and strawberries. Of course he wanted to give it a try, so he went to the kitchen to look for stuff he could use, and came back with a tub of ice cream.

We messed around with that for starters, and because it went so well we decided to keep playing. My lover headed over to the kitchen again, and this time came back with a cucumber.

I’ll spare you the details, but I was a bit sore afterwards.

Now I’m wondering: is it safe to play with veg? Or could I get hurt?

Answer: Vegetables can irritate, scratch and bruise your tender bits, and they can leave you with anything from rashes and infections to external and internal injuries. In short, they’re not ideal for sex play.

If you’d like to experiment anyway, choose veg with a smooth surface, stick a condom on and don’t play too wild. A much safer alternative to real veg are vegetable shaped sex toys.

You can get cucumbers, courgettes, even vibrating corn-on-the cob — have a look around.