Re-Piercing Your Belly Button: Tips for a Safe Piercing

Thinking about having your belly button re-pierced? Before you go to have your piercing redone, here are a few simple tips and ideas to make the process as painless as possible.

Think it through.

I can't stress this enough. Think about why you took the original piercing out. Did it get infected? Did you not like the way it looked or felt? Now think about why you want to re-pierce. Is this something you want for yourself or for someone else? Do you think you made a mistake taking the original piercing out?

Research piercing specialists.

I personally knew the lady that re-pierced my belly button. If the business that previously pierced your belly button is still open, you may want to go back to them to do your re-piercing. If not, take the time to research local piercing businesses. Some piercing businesses have Web sites you can check out, in addition to going to their physical location. Make sure they sterilize their equipment properly, wear gloves, and clean their work areas. If possible, talk to some of their clients to see how satisfied they are with their piercings.

Choose jewelry ahead of time.

I made the mistake of waiting until I got to the parlor to make my jewelry selection. I chose an open ring with two beads, one at the top and one at the bottom. I thought it was cute. 3 weeks later my piercing was still really red and really sensitive. I went back to the lady who did my piercing. We made the decision to change my jewelry from a ring to a straight barbell. The movement of the ring was aggravating the piercing site and slowing the healing process. I recommend a straight barbell to start with. Once the piercing heals you can always change the jewelry. Make sure the jewelry is made of a metal that you are not allergic to and make sure it is high quality. Cheap jewelry could cause the piercing to become infected, not to mention turn your skin green.

OK, you've finally decided to have the re-piercing done, you've found the business to do the job, and you've chosen the jewelry. Once you actually get the re-piercing done, take care of it. Here are a few simple tips on how to do that, as well as signs that your piercing could be infected. Most of these tips are common sense and can apply to any kind of piercing.

Keep it clean!

Wash your belly button piercing with warm, soapy water. Antibacterial soap is the best for this. The business that did the piercing may have an antiseptic spray or wash for sale that they recommend. This may be used in addition to washing. Alcohol and hydrogen peroxide are not recommended as they have a tendency to dry the piercing out, which aggravates it and slows the healing process. Some drainage is normal, but watch out for excessive or colored drainage. Clear or slightly yellow drainage is normal. Green discharge or blood is not.

Protect it!

This should go without saying. Do not wear tight clothing until the piercing is healed, otherwise you run the risk of having the piercing get caught, which will hurt and will slow the healing process. Do not let others play with your piercing. Try to avoid holding things against your stomach until the piercing has healed.

Don't touch it!

Do not play with your piercing until it is healed. Belly button piercings can take up to one year to fully heal, according to Sydney Youngerman-Cole, RN, BSN, RNC writing for WebMD.com. Re-piercings may take that long due to the fact that the piercing needle has had to go through scar tissue in order to create the new piercing. You should only touch the piercing while you're washing it. If you have to adjust it, make sure your hands are clean first.

Be patient!

Be patient and give your re-piercing time to heal. Some re-piercings take longer than others to heal. If you notice anything odd, such as excessive redness, excessive swelling, odd colored discharge, or anything else that concerns you, go back to the place where you had the re-piercing done. The person who did the job should be able to tell you if that is normal or if you have an infection. If you have an infection, you need to go see your doctor as soon as possible.

Sydney Youngerman-Cole, RN, BSN, RNC, "Body Piercing Problems - Topic Overview ", WebMD.com