Piercings? The Dangers, the Myths, the Facts

When I first got my piercings I had difficulty sleeping because I would be limited to sleep in certain positions to prevent any pain caused by putting weight on my ears. After a few weeks my ears healed and I was able to change my earrings. Right now I only have two piercings, one on each ear. A few months ago, I had a third one. This piercing was on my cartilage and I got it in my senior year of high school.

However, I made the mistake of changing the earring the day I got it pierced, causing it to get infected. Whenever I moved it, I felt a sharp stinging pain and it was unbearable. Blood started collecting around the ring and eventually I decided to take it off. I couldn't do it myself because it caused immense pain so I asked a friend of mine to do it for me. I clenched my fists and my teeth so hard I thought they'd shatter. My friend made one swift pull and took the earring out, along with some flesh from my ear.

Nowadays, almost everywhere you go you'll find somebody with a piercing or two. Many people get piercings for social, cultural, or artistic reasons. Just take a look around you.

In this article I'm going to share with you everything you'll need to know about piercings. Whether you don't have any and you want some, you want more, or you're just curious.

I'm going to start off by telling you about the different types of piercings, then I'm going to warn you about the risks associated with body piercings, and finally, I'm going to inform you on ways of minimizing these risks.

TYPES
First off, I'm going to get into the different kinds of piercings. You can pretty much get anything pierced if you wanted to. Piercings can range from your average ear piercings, which take 4-8 weeks to heal on average according to HOWSTUFFWORKS.COM
to back piercings which take 6-9 months to heal on average.

You can also get piercings on your face in places such as your nose, lower lip, and cheek.

In addition to ear piercings some common piercings include eyebrow, lip, tongue, nose, nipple, and bellybutton. However, many people get piercings in other areas of their bodies for various reasons. For example, some people get their genitals pierced for enhanced sexual pleasure. While others get corset piercings on their back and lace them together with ribbon or rope to be photographed for advertising purposes.

Piercings can also be for cultural reasons, meant to show status or for other reasons.

RISKS

There are many things that need to be considered when getting something pierced. According to an article in the Encyclopedia Britannica, some of the risks that are involved with piercings are uncontrollable bleeding, scarring, skin allergies to the jewelry used, and boils that secrete pus. Some more serious risks include hepatitis, tetanus, HIV, chronic infection, and nerve damage, all of which will make you regret getting a piercing.

In addition, piercings will hurt if you move or touch them too much before they have healed. This will cause bleeding and sharp, stinging pains. Some other risks include getting them caught on clothing or other objects, which can also cause a lot of pain if it has not healed. There is also a great risk of it getting tugged on accidentally or on purpose. I mean, who hasn't seen a catfight where you thought one girl was gonna rip off another girl's huge hoopy earrings?

The risk of your piercing getting torn off is greater if it comes in contact with chlorine from swimming pools because it may cause the pierced area to dry out. Also, you should be extra careful when getting piercings if you are diabetic because it makes you more susceptible to infection.

According to an article on MSNBC.com, a teenager's breast had to be removed after an infection. She had gotten her nipple pierced for her 18^th birthday and she had diabetes, which made her prone to infection.

The piercing created an entry point for the bacteria, which destroyed her tissue. By the time she got to the doctor it was already too late for her left breast.

How's that for a happy birthday?

Now that I've warned you about all of the risks involved in getting piercings, I'm going to tell you ways to minimize these risks

MINIMIZING

First and foremost

In order to minimize the risk of infections and other health hazards, before you get a piercing you should make sure the shop you're getting it in is clean. This includes making sure the person doing the piercing washes his or her hands with a germicidal soap and puts on fresh disposable gloves. The person doing the piercing should also be using a disposable or sterilized instrument. Before they do any piercing though, make sure you're not allergic to the type of metal on the jewelry you choose to have in your piercing. After you've gotten your piercing, follow the instructions given to you by your piercer regarding how to clean and maintain your earring. Avoid smoking or drinking any alcohol if you have oral piercings. Most importantly, try not to move the piercing too much.
After the initial healing time has passed, you should wait for your piercing to fully heal by waiting about roughly the same amount of time as the initial healing.
This period allows the skin to toughen up so you can move it without any pain or bleeding.

Now that you've learned everything you need to know about piercings From the different types such as the common ear lobe piercings to the extravagant corset piercings To the risks involved in getting piercings such as chronic bleeding and infections. And ways to minimize these risks such as making sure the shop you get your piercing in is clean The next time you get a piercing, keep everything in mind to ensure your health and well-being. As getting piercings becomes more common, it is important that people are aware of all of the risks involved in getting piercings Should you get an infection contact a doctor or your piercer!

After all, you don't want to be losing any flesh, or a whole breast, over a measly piercing.