Making permanent changes to our bodies are becoming the new trend. From piercing to tattoos, permanent choices are being made. Beyond the obvious, our tendency to like these body alterations, we are putting ourselves at risk for diseases and infections. The medical risks we take are what I want to look at.
All piercings run the risk of getting infected at some point, but the way they are cared for determines if it will happen. Common complications include bacterial infections, blood loss, scaring and swelling. If a piercing has a bacterial infection, puss will form around and under the skin near the hole. If the liquid does not come out on its own or when cleaned by the person, it might have to be drained by a doctor. Blood loss is most common when it comes to tongue piercings. There is a vein right under the tongue, that if punctured, could lead to major blood loss and extending medical and healing complications.
When adding any piercing to the body, a person runs the risk of having scar tissue. This can result from a failed or infected piercing. When choosing a piercing and how one wants to go about getting it, looking at the procedure is crucial. One might not think that the way its performed can effect the results, but it does. The piercing pagodas and stands in numerous stores such as WalMart and Claire’s may be convenient and quick but they do their fair share of damage. They use piercing guns which can sometimes shatter the cartilage in your ear, this is why some people get hard lumps on the backs of their piercings. Because the cartilage on the middle and upper ear is thick, it can only undergo a certain amount of pressure until it breaks into a ton of little pieces.
Swelling is common on most piercing when they are new. This is because your body is not used to a foreign object and material being in place. The cells where the jewelry is now have to move around and shrink to adjust to the piercing. If swelling does not go down soon after the piercing, it may be because the body is fighting an infection and it needs medical attention. It could also be that the jewelry is of poor quality and needs to be changed to a higher quality. There are many causes to swelling, but most can be fixed.
Piercings may look eye appealing but clearly some may cause pain and discomfort. I encourage those who get piercing to keep them clean and to monitor them. Infections and diseases are possible and no one is 100% safe from them! Just take care of them and you shouldn’t have any trouble.
Here is what a bacterial infection of a belly button piercing looks like.
I assure you that after that image of an infected belly button piercing, I am NEVER going to even think of possibly getting one!! I have had my ears pierced since I was a baby, and sometimes if I have poor quality earrings in my ears will start to hurt. Or if I put the backs of my earrings on too tight, and too close to the hole skin will actually start to grow around it- causing for some serious pain as I later try to take the earrings out- or back in, for that matter. I really enjoyed this blog. I know that a lot of people (myself included) underestimate the serious effects that getting a piercing can have on our bodies and our health. I know this blog talks about the risks of when you are first getting a desired piercing, but I wonder what experts have to say if you just leave your earrings in too long? I know that I rarely ever change mine out; I sleep, shower, and go to class every day with the same ones in. Sometimes they smell when I finally do take them out, but I’ve never really thought much about it until reading this blog. Thanks…I will definitely have to pay more attention to how often and how tightly I wear my earrings, and I will seriously be considering if the desired appearance outweighs the risks involved with getting piercings…tattoos…or anything truly permanent for that matter.
I’ve always had really sensitive ears growing up. I’m not able to wear silver ears otherwise my ears get really swollen and puffy. Technically I’m suppose to wear gold but even that irritates my ears. When I got my tragus pierced freshman year of college it got SO swollen and it looked like this Piercing It was so painful but taking out the earring was just as risky because the infection could get into my body. Luckily, my infection went away and I’ve never had any problems since. Maybe the place I went to wasn’t clean or they didn’t use the proper technique to pierce my ear? I’ll never know but it’ll make me think twice!
I actually agree that there are a lot of medical problems related to piercings that are not properly cared for. In fact I can personally relate because I witnessed a girl get her belly button piercing first infected and then ripped out all because she did not remove it while she participated in a sport. When you play sports you often sweat a lot and all that sweat can get in a piercing, especially newer piercings, so it is very dangerous. So the girl I know played sports, sweat and continued to wear her belly button ring.
wow!! This post is so relatable, my cartilage that I got pierced over the summer is swollen, and skin has grown over the backing of the earing. A lot of people I’ve talked to about ear, nose, and belly button piercings have had similar problems, many of them taking out the jewelry and letting the hole heal and close up for good. I think in this case, the aesthetic beauty of having body piercings is not worth the pain and aggravation! Additionally, I think people are at much less of a risk for complications if they properly clean their piercings with the prescribed lotions. I definitely learned my lesson, and next time I decide to get a piercing I’ll know to thoroughly clean it and follow directions.
This is a very disgusting post but in a good way. I always thought the down down sides of weird piercings like nose and tongue piercings are just not good for you. this really confirms my opinion with some scientific evidence. I still want ear piercings but this makes it so I will never get any other type of piercing. However, i do wonder if the different types of places that do piercings have different rates of infection. It kind of makes sense that more tattoo parlor places are more likely to have infection then Claire’s.