Body Piercing:

A Guide for Teens

 

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 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 us:

• 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 run into 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 piercer 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 piercings, LEAVE!! Piercing guns cannot be sterilized and should NOT be used for body piercing.

Another cause of problems from piercings 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)

Does it matter where on my body I get pierced?

Healing time is different depending on where on your body you get pierced. Some places are more likely to get infected or have problems. Piercings on your ear lobes usually take about 6-8 weeks to heal. But piercings 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.

 

Tongue piercings swell a lot at first but heal fairly quickly if the right type of jewelry is used. However, metal jewelry in the tongue piercing may damage gums and chip the enamel surface on your teeth. In fact, the ADA, which stands for the American Dental Association (a group of dentists that set professional standards for dentists in the United States), is against any type of oral piercings because of all the risks. In some cases, nipple piercings can damage some of the milk-producing glands in a young woman's breasts. This can cause infections or problems later if the woman decides to breast-feed her baby. Some pierced areas, like, navel (belly button) piercings, are more likely to become infected because of irritation from tight clothing. A pierced site needs air to help the healing process.

 

Pierced Body Part	Time it Takes To Heal
Ear lobe	6 to 8 weeks
Ear cartilage	4 months to 1 year
Eyebrow	6 to 8 weeks
Nostril	2 to 4 months
Nasal septum	6 to 8 months
Nasal bridge	8 to 10 weeks
Tongue	4 weeks
Lip	2 to 3 months
Nipple	3 to 6 months
Navel	4 months to 1 year
Female genitalia	4 to 10 weeks
Male genitalia	4 weeks to 6 months

 

If I decide that a piercing is important to me, where should I go?

You should ask friends and relatives with piercings where they went and if they liked the place. Look for a place that does a lot of piercings and that only employs piercers with piercing licenses. Some states make piercers get a license, while other states do not. So there are actually people who are doing body piercings with very little training! As you can imagine, this can be very dangerous for you. However, the APP, which stands for the Association of Professional Piercers (a professional organization of piercers), makes safety rules for people who do piercings. Make sure that there is a certificate on the wall that says the piercer is registered with the APP. You may need to bring a copy of your birth certificate. If you are under 18 years old, you will need your parents' or guardians' permission. Your parent/guardian will need to go with you to the piercing salon and sign a consent form. Since the law is different from state to state, you will need to find out what the law in your area says about whether or not you need parental permission to have a piercing.

 

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.

 

What kind of jewelry should I buy?

Implant grade stainless steel jewelry is generally reasonably priced and safe to use for new piercings. Both 316L and 316LVM types of stainless steel meet the standards for "implant grade" that has been approved by the American Society of Testing and Materials (ASTM), an organization that is not related to the government but sets high standards for all kinds of materials that are manufactured in the U.S. The European organization that is similar to the ASTM is called the "ISO."

 

Implant grade stainless steel is least likely to produce a foreign body reaction or infection in the skin. Other choices for new piercings are metals such as gold (AT LEAST 18 karat), titanium, or niobium. All of these cost more than implant grade stainless steel but are safe.

 

Silver is not a good choice for new piercings because the tarnish from silver gets deposited into the skin. The deposits often darken the skin around the piercing which can be permanent. Sterling silver jewelry can be safely worn on most healed piercings but it should not be worn in the mouth or genital area where the skin is moist.

 

Gold jewelry should be 18 karat (75% gold) for new piercings and at least 14k gold for healed piercings. Gold-filled or gold-plated jewelry should never be used in any piercings because the metal is very thin. The finish wears away easily and it chips even with the slightest contact with the body. Some people have difficulty with white gold,because white gold contains "nickel" - a metal that many people are allergic too.

 

Titanium is not only used for jewelry but also for surgical implants in the body. For example, titanium implants are used for shoulder replacement surgery because it is lightweight and porous. There are actually tiny pores in the metal that allow tissue in the body to attach to it. For this reason, it is recommended that Titanium jewelry be highly polished to reduce the "porosity" (pores or very tiny holes in the metal).

 

For people who are extremely sensitive to metal, Teflon or nylon piercings may be used.

 

Look for a salon that has a large choice of jewelry. The salon should not tell you to use a certain type of jewelry just because it's the only kind they have.

 

 

What's up with all the different kinds of jewelry?

• Bars, which are the type of jewelry used in some piercings like the tongue, are measured in length (how long the bar is). When the piercing is first done, a longer bar will be used. When the piercing heals, a shorter bar is used.
• Ring jewelry is measured by diameter, or how wide the ring is.
• Gauge means the thickness of the jewelry. The smaller the gauge number, the thicker the jewelry. The APP says that jewelry no greater than 14 gauge should be used below the neck. This is because of the risk of a foreign body reaction and the possibility of the ring cutting the skin.

How are piercings done?

An experienced piercer uses a hollow needle to create a hole by passing the needle through the body part you want pierced. The body jewelry is then inserted through the hole. Sometimes there can be a small amount of bleeding. You should not take aspirin or any pain medication that contains aspirin the week before any piercing is done, since these medicines may cause you to bleed a little bit more than usual. Remember, piercing guns should NEVER be used since it can damage tissue and cause infection.

 

How much will a piercing cost?

There are actually 2 costs with piercings - the site cost and the jewelry cost. The site cost depends on where on your body you get pierced. For example, ear and nose piercings usually cost less than tongue, nipple, or genital piercings. Gold jewelry costs more than stainless steel or another metal. You should shop around and check prices at different piercing salons before you decide on where to have your piercing done.

 

How should I clean my new piercing?

Follow these steps to prevent infection

1. Wash your hands first with soap and water before touching or cleaning the pierced area. (Don't let anyone else touch the pierced area until it is healed.)
2. Remove any crusty material from the site and from the jewelry with warm water.
3. Gently wash the area around the piercing with antibacterial soap (liquid soap works the best).
4. Gently rinse off all of the soap and crusty discharge.
5. Gently dry the area with a paper towel or plain white napkin. (Bacteria can stay in cloth towels.)
6. Do steps 1-5 twice a day until the skin heals. (Over-washing or over-scrubbing can irritate the area.)
7. Do NOT use antibacterial ointments because they don't allow air to get to the area and they trap bacteria.
   

How can I prevent infections after I get pierced?

Preventing infections is really not hard. It shouldn't take a lot of your time to keep your piercing clean and the good news is, you won't have to worry about complications if you keep it clean.

• Do NOT use alcohol or Peroxide to clean the area. (Both products will dry out your skin.) Other strong solutions such as Betadine will discolor gold jewelry.
• Rinse the pierced skin after exercising since sweat may irritate the piercing.
• Keep the pierced area from coming in contact with other people's body fluids, such as saliva and sweat. (Do not have oral sexual contact for 4-6 weeks if you have a tongue, lip, or genital piercing).
• Keep things clean that come in contact with the body part that has been pierced. For example, keep your phone clean if you have an ear piercing, keep your glasses clean for ear and eyebrow piercings, cover your ear lobe with a tissue if you use hair spray, and try not to apply makeup close to piercing sites.
• Wear clean clothing with soft fabric for navel piercings. Avoid wearing jeans because the material can be irritating.
• Don't wear pantyhose, leotards, belts, or tight clothing while a navel piercing is healing.
• Wear loose fitting clothing with a navel piercing, to let the air help with healing.
• Check your jewelry many times during the day to see if any parts have become loose, especially if you have a tongue piercing. If a bar becomes loose, you can accidentally swallow it or damage a permanent tooth.
• Do NOT use a hot tub or swim in public pools until your piercing has healed.
• Rinse tongue or lip piercings after every meal or snack. Rinse for 30 to 60 seconds after eating with an antibacterial, alcohol-free mouthwash, or a warm salt water rinse. Or, alternately, make a mix with one part water, and one part hydrogen-peroxide, and apply it directly to the piercing site with a cotton swab. The bubbling peroxide can help remove food stuck in the site.
• Throw out your old toothbrush and get a new, soft-bristled toothbrush if you have a tongue or lip piercing. This is to avoid exposure to bacteria from your old toothbrush.
• See your dentist for regular checkups and if you think you have a problem. Studies have shown that people who have piercings in their mouth are much more likely to have injuries to their teeth and gums.
• Eat healthy foods. Foods rich in vitamins and minerals help your body heal.
  

Be on the lookout for signs of infection that may include one or more of the following: redness, swelling, discharge, bad smell, a rash at or around the piercing site, or a fever. If you think you have an infection, DON'T try to take care of it by yourself. Make an appointment to see your health care provider.

 

Body piercing is a big decision. After understanding the risks, we hope that this information will help you make a decision that's best for you. If you do decide to get a body piercing, we 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!

 

 

Written by the Center for Young Women's Health Staff

 

 

Updated: 8/1/06

 

 

Related Information:

• Sexuality and Sexual Health
• Contraception/Birth Control
• Making Healthy Sexual Decisions
• Going to College and Staying Healthy
• Choosing a Primary Health Care Provider
• Related Links

 

 

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