Body piercing has become a fashion mania as more and more youngsters (both the genders) are getting their body parts pierced for that trendy look. Apart from the traditional piercing on the nose and ears, the silver and golden studs piercing the eyebrows, lower lip, tongue, navel, nose, inner concha, helix and the cartilaginous part of ears are the new craze.
However, one must remember that piercing is a wound and that negligence at the time of the procedure or afterwards can play havoc with one’s health. Therefore, it is imperative to keep certain important points in consideration once you have made up your mind to follow the trend. The decision to get pierced should never be taken in the spur of a moment. Piercing should be done on a dry day, never go for it on rainy and humid days since that will increase your propensity to infection.
Once you have made up your mind to get the procedure done, you need to be aware of the risks that you will be predisposed to. The joy of having this aesthetic statement is short lived in persons with sensitive and keloid prone skin as they end up having large hypertrophic scars and allergic reactions therefore one must know his/her skin type before undergoing the procedure. Tongue or oral piercing can lead to speech impediments whereas ear piercing can cause painful abscess. Genital piercing can interfere with the functionality of genitals and piercing on nose can also lead to abscess formation. Once you are with your piercer, be vigilant. Avoid taking sleep inducing drugs. The safe bet is the use of local anaesthesia. See that the syringes used are disposable.
After care
Once done never ignore the wound. Always take good after care.
If you do not keep your new piercing sterilized, it will eventually lead to an infection. This infection will cause a bump containing pus and fluids to appear. A scar can appear if infection is not treated early.Scars are bound to form when you keep touching your piercing and playing with it. Too much of scratching and fiddling can delay the healing process.
Do not be shocked if you find your hair, threads from clothes and sweaters getting stuck to your piercing. What you must be careful about is that you do not allow the piercing to get pulled really hard.
While you’re cleaning your piercing, try to gently rotate the stud or ring. This will help open up the piecing and clean the area as well.
Sometimes an allergic reaction may appear even months after the first gunshot or needle pierce. So, always be aware of the signs of such a reaction. An allergic reaction caused by the stud can cause the area on the skin to gradually turn red, crusted and dark. There may also be associated recurrent itching, skin flaking or oozing.
Do not use oil on your piercing as it will accumulate dust and germs which can coagulate and collect on the skin.
Another rule to remember is that you cannot donate blood for a year after you’ve been pierced.
