Body Piercing Facts and Tips

Over the past few years, body art became an undeniable craze.From A-list celebrities to the girls next door, tattoos are more than atrend—they’re an artistic movement. It's uncommon to walk down the street, gogrocery shopping, or even watch TV without seeing piercings and tattoosadorning unassuming body parts. Spotlight on: ears, lips, nostrils, eyebrows,tongues, belly buttons, and even cheeks and temples.

Although once scorned as a manifestation of grungerebellion, the tattoo and piercing industry is now internationally respected asan alternative art community. Perhaps you are one of the millions of people whothink body piercings look cool—maybe you’ve even considered getting a fewpiercings yourself. But before you take the plunge, there are a number ofquestions you want answered. Are piercings safe? Are they bad for my body? Whatdo I need to know before I get one? What’s the history of body piercing,anyway?

Body piercing, like tattooing, is a popular alternative artform—most popular among American teens. However, in many other countries, bodypiercing holds cultural significance. For example, natives of certain Pacific islandspaint their faces to represent tribal traditions. The design begins at theeyebrows and slowly leads down the face to the throat. Many Middle Easterntribes will only pierce the ears and nose. In some cultures, piercingsrepresent different rights of passage, such as marriage or leaving home, orvarious other events in life. With each life-changing and spiritual experience,infants, toddlers, and young children accumulate a piercing. By the time achild is six years old, he or she may already have five piercings, eachrepresenting a significant time in his or her early childhood.  

In America,teens and adults do not normally associate spiritual meaning with piercings. ManyAmerican teens have various psychological motivations to get body piercings,from rebelling against parents to simply craving attention. However, otherteens simply like the look and want to be a part of the latest trend. Oneteenage girl says she got her tongue pierced because she "was bored andwanted something to do". Another teenager with several piercing says thateach experience gives him an adrenaline rush. Others look beyond the fad andsee body piercing as the utmost form of self-expression. Overall, body piercingis a popular destination for teens and adults seeking excitement and newexperiences.

What is body piercing?

A bodypiercing is a way to wear jewelry on various parts of the human bodythrough a needle puncture of the skin.  

The piercing process:

• The designatedpiercing area (except for the tongue) is cleaned with germicidal soap.Germicidal soap is a soap that kills disease causing bacteria micro-organisms.

• Your skinis then punctured with a sterile needle.

• The pieceof jewelry, which has already been sterilized, is attached to the area.

• The personperforming the piercing disposes of the needle in a spare container, so thereis no risk of blood cross-contamination.

• The piercedarea is cleaned.

• The pierceradjusts the jewelry and givesinstructions on how to make sure the piercing heals correctly, and advises onhow to act if there is a problem.

What you need to knowbefore you get pierced:

• If you’reunder eighteen, the majority of piercing salons will not allow you to get apiercing without consent from parents or legal guardians.

• It is bestyou know all the risks involved and how to best protect yourself frominfections and other complications.

• Certainsites on the body can cause more problems than others because they can catchinfections faster, i.e. the nose.

• Tonguepiercings damage teeth, while cheek and lip piercings can cause gum problems.

If you decide to geta piercing

• Make sureyou know where to seek medical care in case of infection.

Common symptoms are:

• Excessiveredness and tender skin around the piercing.

• Prolongedbleeding.

• Pusand change of skin color around the pierced area.

• Ifyou plan to get a tongue or mouth piercing, make sure your teeth and gums arehealthy.

• Besure that you are up-to-date with your immunizations, especially hepatitis andtetanus.

Can you donate bloodin the future?

If you want to donate blood in the future, rethink yourpiercing. The United Statesand the Canadian Red Cross will not accept blood donations from any person whohad a body piercing within the past year. This reason is piercing procedurescan transmit dangerous blood borne diseases.

Better to be safethan sorry!

Don't do a piercing if you have any of the following:

• Heartmurmur

• Auto-immunedisorder (AIDS)

• Diabetes

• Rashes

• Scars

• Abnormal molesand freckles, or other obvious skin or tissue abnormalities

If you wish to pierce a surgically altered or irregularlocation on your body, it’s best to consult a doctor first.

Once you are sure that body piercing is right for you,proceed with caution to ensure a happy and healthy experience!