Preventing a Belly Button Piercing-Horror Story

Although I loved my belly button piercing and kept it for more than six years, it required near-constant attention. In the first couple of years following the piercing, I washed and turned it almost daily. In spite of this, it still managed to get seriously infected several times. To put it bluntly, once my belly button piercing was infected, I had to push the pus out of it, wash it with soap and turn it multiple times every day. This often meant forcing the belly button ring to turn when it was "stuck" due to the infection, which was very painful.

According to the American Association of Family Physicians (AAFP), the potential dangers of belly button piercings are many. Belly button piercings take longer to heal than any other body piercing - up to nine months - matched only by scrotal piercings. As with my experience, these piercings are prone to recurrent infections. The infections are painful, and can be irritated by touch or clothing. According to the AAFP, another dangerous - and more alarming - possible complication of belly button piercings is jewelry migration and rejection. According to an article on About.com, rejection is when the body recognizes a piercing as a foreign object and attempts to force it out of the body. Migration is the process through which the body pushes the piercing, healing the skin behind it, until it is eventually rejected completely. There is little likelihood of the belly button piercing healing without serious scarring once this has occurred.

So, what can you do to prevent these complications if you have or are considering getting a belly button piercing? According to JewelInfo4U.com, daily cleaning of your piercing is the most important thing you can do to prevent problems. Clean your piercing 2-3 times a day with a cleanser intended for the purpose. Make sure your hands are clean prior to doing this, and be sure to wash them any time you intend on touching your piercing. Avoid wearing tight clothes around your waist during the healing period to prevent irritation, infection or tearing of the piercing site. Unfortunately, if you notice your piercing has migrated or moved at any point, there is nothing you can do to stop this process. To prevent further damage or the possibility of a scarred hole being left from the piercing "growing out" completely, remove the belly button ring as soon as possible. Once the piercing has healed completely after a migration, you can discuss the pros and cons of a possible re-piercing with the professionals at your body piercing studio.