What to Expect with a New Body Piercing

Have you recently received your first body piercing? Whether it is a tongue piercing, belly piercing or any other body part, you were probably a little nervous while at the piercing studio, that's normal. Unfortunately, you have now probably forgotten what your piercer said about swelling, discharge, and other piercing aftercare instructions. Aftercare instructions are provided by professional piercers and no one should ever, ever get pierced by a friend, or attempt to pierce your own body.

When it's your first piercing, it's hard to know what a normal reaction is. You probably know that it will hurt for a while, but how long? Should you have any discharge from the piercing site? Is it supposed to pinch? Are you doing something wrong, or was it pierced incorrectly?

Swelling is a common reaction with oral piercings such as the tongue or lip. This may last for several days, and is not considered abnormal by itself. Other piercing sites, such as the belly should not be swollen after several hours, if at all. If present, swelling should be localized at the piercing site, and not spread beyond it.

There will be some discharge from the piercing site. This may dry into a crystalline-appearing crust on the jewelry at the openings of the piercing. If the excretion is clear, not foul-smelling or greenish, it is considered normal. If you believe that the piercing is infected, and the discharge is not normal, do not attempt to correct the problem by using alcohol, hydrogen peroxide, or a Betadine solution. These will dry out your piercing, and delay healing. You should first wash your hands, then clean your piercing twice daily with non-iodized sea-salt solution, or a liquid anti-bacterial soap and water solution. Do not touch the area unless you have washed your hands first and try not to touch the area at all except to clean it. This should return you're piercing to normal. If the problem persists and the area feels hot to the touch, a doctor may be needed to prescribe an antibiotic ointment. You should always let a doctor or nurse practitioner prescribe the antibiotic ointment. Most over-the counter treatments are too heavy and will keep oxygen from reaching your piercing site, compounding the problem.

Another commonly occurring problem is an allergic reaction. The symptoms are an itching and burning sensation and redness that extends well beyond the initial piercing site. You may also notice that your jewelry looks too small, and the piercing is stretching. This is caused by your skin trying to distance itself from the jewelry. You will need to re-visit your piercer, and have a different type of jewelry put in. They may suggest jewelry made of PTFE, (polytetrafluoroethylene - a form of Teflon) which is opaque and looks like fishing line, and is hypoallergenic.

If you can see the piercing through your skin, or the length of the piercing from one hole to the other is less than 1/4", your piercing was not done correctly. The jewelry is too close to the surface of your skin and will break through, causing a permanent scar. You should return to your piercer immediately and have it removed before this happens. Your jewelry should also be the correct size for your piercing. Barbells should have a small portion of the shaft visible on each end, and rings should be able to lie flat. Too small jewelry in an initial piercing needs to be corrected by your piercer with the appropriate size. Do not ever accept jewelry that is not the correct size, or bring your own jewelry. The piercing shop should have a wide variety of different sizes and materials available.

Once your piercing is healed, you can experiment with the many different styles and materials of body jewelry that are available. Be sure to keep your piercing healthy with appropriate body jewelry. This can be obtained from the piercing studio where you initially got pierced, although this is probably the most expensive choice. Never purchase your body jewelry from a store that does not specialize in body jewelry. They often know little about the jewelry they have, and cannot offer detailed information about the jewelry's material, size or instructions for its care. Many convenience and department stores sell poor quality body jewelry from China that contains higher than normal amounts of nickel, which causes allergic reactions in many people.

There are many online stores that specialize in high quality body jewelry. My favorite is Wicked Body Jewelry. They provide an exact description of the gauge, size and materials of their body piercing jewelry. You can also ask for more detailed information like what is the difference in nickel content between their 316L and 316LVM steel body jewelry and they answer right way . This is very important since body piercing jewelry is not a returnable item at any store and you want to be sure that you purchase jewelry that you can wear. Try asking a clerk at Wal-Mart what the nickel content of that cute belly ring is, and see what happens.

None of the advice in this article is meant to be a substitute for medical advice from a doctor. If you believe that you may have a serious problem with your piercing, consult a medical professional immediately.