Study finds masturbation kills 100 Germans every year

As many as 100 people are dying every year in Germany from ‘risky masturbation practices’, a new study has shown. Oxygen deprivation is the most common cause of death in people who are searching for the ‘ultimate orgasm’, according to forensic examiner, Dr Harald Voss.

The body of a man was reportedly found in Hamburg covered in sliced cheese with pantyhose pulled up over his upper body while he was wearing a diving suit and a raincoat. He has placed a plastic bag over his head was sat in front of a heater that was switched on, reports The Local. Another man was found just before the new year who had died from auto-asphyxiation when he was wrapped in chains in a room where ‘pornographic images were present’.

Women are also known to die from autoerotic asphyxiation, but it is less likely as it’s claimed that they are ‘more cautious’. However, although the official numbers reported are much lower, Dr Voss predicts that the number of unreported cases are ‘extremely high’ as the relatives of the victims may feel ashamed about what has happened.

In one example, a man was discovered by his mother with Christmas tree lights clamped to his nipples, but she removed them before emergency services arrived. They were initially confused why he had burn marks on his body but his mother came clean and admitted what she had originally found. It was concluded that the cause of death was electrocution. 

The Institute of Legal Medicine has investigated 40 accidental autoerotic fatalities in northern Germany between 1983 and 2003 with all the victims being males between the ages of 13 and 79. Dr Voss warns that evidence that could point towards the scene of an autoerotic death include: exposed genitals, restraints that could have been self administered, mirrors placed near the body, plastic bags around the head, porn, and the lack of a suicide note.