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Cosmetic Body Piercing
 Many
different cultures have pierced their bodies for centuries. If you
look in a history book, you will find that Egyptians, Greeks, and
Romans did body art, such as piercing and tattooing. People
pierced their bodies for decoration to show the person's
importance in a group, or because they thought it protected them
from evil. Today, we know much more about the risks of body
piercing. Body piercing is a serious decision.
Before you decide what you want to do, ask your friends, parents,
and trusted adults what they think.
What are teens saying about body
piercing today?
Ask other teens who have been pierced
and what they thought of the whole experience. How much did it
cost? Was it painful? How long did it take to heal? If they had
the chance to do it over again, would they?
Some tips teens have passed along to
Dr. Kiran Mehndiratta:
-
YOU do
NOT
have to pierce your body to "belong".
-
YOU can
ALWAYS
change your mind or
WAIT
if you are not sure.
-
If YOU do
decide to have your body pierced,
NEVER
pierce
your own body or let a friend do it because you can get very
serious health problems.
What are the risks with body
piercing?
The most serious risks are
infections, allergic reactions, bleeding, and damage to nerves or
teeth. Infections may be caused by hepatitis, HIV, tetanus,
bacteria, and yeast. If the person washes his/her hands and uses
gloves and sterile equipment and you take good care of your
piercing, the risk of infection is lowered (but still exists).
Did you know that...
-
You CAN get
and/or spread a serious infection including HIV, if the piercing
equipment hasn't been sterilized properly.
-
Infections
caused by bacteria getting into the puncture of the piercing may
also happen later, even after the piercing has healed.
-
If the
studio uses a piercing "gun" to do body piercing…LEAVE ! Piercing
guns cannot be sterilized and should NOT be used for body
piercing.
Another cause of problems from
piercing is the wrong kind of jewelry for the area pierced. If the
jewelry is too small, it can actually cut off the blood supply to
the tissue, causing swelling and pain. If the jewelry is either
too thin or too heavy or if you are allergic to the metal, your
body can sometimes reject the jewelry (your body reacts against
the jewelry because it is a "foreign object").
Know the risks before you have your
body pierced…
-
Bacterial
infection (where you had the piercing)
-
Excessive
(a lot of) bleeding
-
Allergic
reactions (especially to certain kinds of jewelry)
-
Damage to
nerves (for example, you may lose feeling at the area that gets
pierced)
-
Keloids
(thick scarring at the piercing site)
-
Dental
damage (swelling and infection of tongue, chipped and broken
teeth, choking on loose jewelry)
Some places are more likely to get
infected or have problems. Piercing on your ear lobes
usually take about 6-8 weeks to heal. But piercing on the
side of your ear, which is cartilage, can take anywhere
from 4 months to 1 year to heal. The reason for this is that the
type of tissue in each area is different and the amount of
pressure on the pierced area while you are sleeping is different.
|
Pierced Body Part |
Time it Takes To Heal |
|
Ear lobe
Ear
cartilage
Eyebrow
Nostril
Nasal septum
Nasal bridge
Tongue
Lip
Nipple
Navel
Female
genitalia
Male
genitalia |
6 to 8 weeks
4 months to
1 year
6 to 8 weeks
2 to 4
months
6 to 8
months
8 to 10
weeks
4 weeks
2 to 3
months
3 to 6
months
4 months to
1 year
4 to 10
weeks
4 weeks to
6 months |
What should I look for in a piercing salon?
When you go into a salon, look
around. Is the place clean? The shop should be kept clean and
sanitary. The lighting should be good so the piercers can see well
while working. Do they wash their hands and use sterile gloves and
instruments? All the instruments should either be brand new and
disposable (meant to be thrown away after one use) or be
sterilized in pouches. If the piercer uses disposable needles, you
should see him/her open sealed packages of the needles! The
piercers should throw away the needles in a biohazard container
after using them.
Remember piercing guns should NEVER
be used since it can damage tissue and cause infection.
Body piercing is a big decision.
After understanding the risks, I hope that this information will
help you make a decision that's best for you. If you do decide to
get a body piercing, I hope that you will follow the guidelines in
this information sheet. Go to a reliable salon/piercer, buy good
jewelry, keep the site clean and away from irritating materials,
and see your health care provider if you have symptoms of an
infection!
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