for my young trans truscum and even older ones, since many trans survival and helpful guides are not inclusive of ALL trans people, please remember to safely bind and you can always come to me with questions or advice –
get a binder from a well known and trusted company to ensure that it is made for safe wear
never go over 8 hours if you can help it; it is recommended that that be the longest amount of time you wear it for
wearing it longer for hours or even days or weeks can result in horrifying consequences such as cuts in your chest, bruised chest, deformation of your ribcage and even broken ribs which leads to difficulty of breathing; it can also lead to such deformation that future chances for top surgery are gone and you would not be able to get it
never exercise in your binder
stretch every hour to help your back and air flow
never double bind even if it is with the safe binders, that will double your consequences
never use ace bandages / wraps or anything else that would be deemed unsafe to use
IT IS OKAY TO TAKE BREAKS
never sleep in your binder
if you experience trouble breathing, back pain, chest pain, anything of the sorts then please TAKE A BREAK FROM BINDING; there are good compressing sports bras you can get from places like target or walmart to continue getting at least the minimal binding without it hurting
make sure when buying a binder from a site, you check that sites specific sizing chart because they are not all the same and have someone help you measure if you can to make sure you get the right size; GETTING A SMALLER SIZE WILL NOT MAKE IT BIND BETTER, IT WILL HARM YOU MORE AND QUICKER
there is actually no safe way to bind so please make sure you do it the safest way that is currently possible for us
you WILL get that surgery