Piercings: Proper care can help prevent complications

Find out what risks piercings pose, ways to protect yourself and what to do if you no longer want the body art.

From ears to lips to bellybuttons, piercings are popular and easy to get. With a quick trip to a piercing studio, you can be wearing a new piece of jewelry in minutes.

But don't let the ease of getting a piercing stop you from doing your research. Piercings do carry certain risks and can cause complications. The decisions you make now — where you get the piercing, what type of jewelry you use and how you care for the new piercing — can help you prevent infection and speed the healing process.

How piercings are done

A piercing is the insertion of jewelry into an opening made in the ear, nose, eyebrow, lip, tongue or other area of the body. It's traditionally done without anesthesia.

For earlobe piercing, especially in the retail setting, an ear-piercing gun is used to quickly push the earring through the earlobe. A single-use, sterilized, ear-piercing device or an ear-piercing gun with sterilized, disposable cartridges is usually the safest. The single-use piercing device or gun typically includes one earring stud and clasp and comes in individually wrapped sterile packages.

For body piercings (other than in the earlobe), the practitioner pushes a hollow needle through a body part then inserts a piece of jewelry into the hole. Some practitioners may use a reusable piercing gun for these types of piercings. The devices are difficult to sterilize, however, and can more easily damage the skin.

Risks of piercings

CLICK TO ENLARGE

Keloid

Due to improvements in safety procedures and equipment, earlobe piercing is generally less risky than other body piercings. However, anytime the skin is punctured, there is a risk of infection or other complications. Specific risks include:

• Blood-borne diseases. If the equipment used to do your piercing is contaminated with the blood of an infected person, you can contract a number of serious blood-borne diseases. These include hepatitis C, hepatitis B, tetanus and HIV — the virus that causes AIDS.
• Allergic reactions. Some piercing jewelry is made of nickel or brass, which can cause allergic reactions.
• Oral complications. Jewelry worn in tongue piercings can chip and crack your teeth and damage your gums. Also, tongue swelling after a new piercing can block the throat and airway.
• Skin infections. Typical signs and symptoms of an infection include redness, swelling, pain and a pus-like discharge. Redness and pain caused by an infection usually start within a few days to weeks after the procedure and increase in intensity over time. Infections from piercings in the upper ear cartilage are especially serious. Antibiotics are often ineffective. Because cartilage doesn't have its own blood supply, the drug can't reach the infection site. Such infection can lead to cartilage damage and serious, permanent ear deformity.
• Scars and keloids. Body piercing can cause scars and keloids — ridged areas caused by an overgrowth of scar tissue.
• Tearing or trauma. Jewelry can get caught and torn out accidentally. Trauma to a piercing may require surgery or stitches to repair. If not repaired, the damaged area may develop permanent scars or deformity.

Piercing care

A new piercing site may be slightly swollen, red and tender, but typically improves over the next several days. You may notice some slight bleeding. While the piercing heals, white or yellow fluid may drain and form a slight crust on the jewelry.

To prevent infection and to encourage healing, take proper care of your piercing.

• Don't touch the piercing or twist the jewelry unless you're cleaning it.
• Always wash your hands with soap and water before cleaning the piercing.
• Keep clothing away from the piercing. Excessive rubbing or friction can cause irritation and delay healing.
• Oral piercings, especially in the tongue, can cause substantial swelling. Depending on the amount of swelling, you may need a prescription anti-inflammatory medication from your doctor. Melting ice chips in your mouth may help any pain and swelling.

• Oral piercing (tongue, lip, cheek). Use an antibacterial, alcohol-free mouth rinse for 30 to 60 seconds after meals and at bedtime while your piercing heals. Brush your teeth with a new, soft-bristled toothbrush to avoid introducing bacteria into your mouth.
• Skin piercing (nose, ears, eyebrow, navel). Rinse the site with warm water and use a cotton swab to gently remove any crusting. Then apply a dab of a liquid medicated cleanser to the area. Gently turn the jewelry back and forth to work the cleanser around the opening. Avoid alcohol and peroxide, which can dry the skin. Also avoid ointments, which keep oxygen from reaching the piercing and can leave a sticky residue.

Most piercings take six to eight weeks to heal, but some types may take several months or a year to heal. During this time, you must leave the jewelry in place to prevent the hole from closing. Once scar tissue has created a "tunnel," you can change the jewelry or remove the jewelry for a short time.

Piercing removal

Piercings often close — sometimes quickly — once you remove the jewelry that keeps the hole open. Depending on how long you've had the piercing, you may see a small indentation, hole or possibly scarred tissue when you stop wearing the jewelry.

Precautions to protect yourself

You can decrease the possibility of complications if you look for and ask about the following:

• Trained and licensed employees. Go to a reputable piercing studio that employs only properly trained and licensed employees. Also, choose an establishment that's clean, tidy and professional.
• An autoclave. An autoclave is a heat sterilization machine that should be used to sterilize all nondisposable equipment after each customer. Instruments and supplies that can't be sterilized with an autoclave should be disinfected with a commercial disinfectant or bleach solution after each use. These include drawer handles, tables and sinks.
• Fresh equipment. An unused, sterile needle should be used for all piercings.
• Gloves. The piercer must wash his or her hands and put on a fresh pair of latex gloves for each procedure. The piercer should change those gloves if he or she needs to touch anything else, such as the telephone, during the procedure.
• Single-use piercing devices. When piercing your ears, make certain that single-use piercing devices or a piercing gun with sterilized, disposable cassettes is used. Don't receive a piercing from a reusable piercing gun. These devices typically can't be autoclaved, which may increase your risk of infection. Avoid piercing guns when piercing other body parts. A piercing gun may crush your skin during the piercing, causing more injury.
• Appropriate hypoallergenic jewelry. Brass and nickel jewelry can cause allergic reactions. Look for surgical-grade steel, titanium, 14- or 18-karat gold, or a metal called niobium.

RELATED

• Tattoo removal cream: Does it work?
• Tattoos: Risks and precautions to know first