Body Piercing

A tongue ring is not so different from an earring.

Initially a piercing is a wound, and like any other small puncture it will heal. As long as the procedure is aseptic—free from bacterial contamination—and the piercee follows directions for good aftercare, punctured tissue in every area will grow back over the wound and become part of a closed system once again. The area is only susceptible to infection if irritation or pulling causes the area to open again. Catch your nose ring on a coat hook, though, and that could smart.

Lip and tongue rings, especially the barbell types, can chip or even break your teeth (no studies yet on what they do to the people you kiss). To prevent damage around the mouth, studs in the lip should be placed in a neutral space along the lower gum line. Tongue piercings are angled to accommodate the palate on the roof of your mouth and to avoid catching the sublingual web along the bottom. Another way to keep oral jewelry from becoming a tiny dental wrecking ball is to use acrylic rather than metal jewelry.

All that glitters—or itches—is not gold.

In her September 2006 study on body art, Dr. Anne Laumann of Northwestern University was surprised by the prevalence of metal allergies, especially among women: As many as one in four women may have an allergic reaction to the metal jewelry that passes through their piercings.

Says Dr. Bruce Katz, dermatologist and director of the JUVA Skin and Laser Center in New York City, “Fourteen-karat gold earrings are a very common source of allergies—not because of the gold, but because of the nickel in the gold. With pure 24-karat gold, you seldom see a reaction.”

A metal allergy, which presents as swollen and itchy red skin, is usually treated with a topical steroid cream.

A recent study found the most medical complications were with navel piercings. In the study mentioned above, navel piercings were found more likely than ear, nose, eyebrow, nipple, or genital piercings to pose a medical problem.

“That’s probably due to irritation from clothing,” Katz says. “There can be a lot of friction from shirts, belts and waistbands, especially when you work out. That makes for small breaks in the skin which can lead to infection. It’s also an area with a lot of moisture, so bacteria and fungus collect there.”

Piercings will typically close up if no jewelry is worn for an extended time. If you don’t want to wear jewelry but do want to preserve a piercing—like many pregnant women who don’t want to wear a belly ring again until after delivery—an inert, flexible insert made of Tygon (which is like fishing line) or PTFE (Teflon) will prevent the hole from closing up. Consult a professional piercer or a dermatologist.

According to the Association of Professional Piercers, guidelines and healing times for piercings vary quite a bit depending on where, exactly, you’ve poked a new hole in your body. The association offers downloadable info about caring for a new oral piercing or body piercing.

For more information on body piercing, visit safepiercing.org.

Body Piercing has been reviewed for accuracy by Dr. Bruce Katz, director of the JUVA Skin and Laser Center in New York.

Also read Tattoos, our first part on body art.

Confused by health myths and misinformation? Each week, Rich Maloof talks to leading health experts to bring you the straight facts on a broad range of health topics.