Is body piercing safe?

What does it feel like? How long for healing? What was your experience with it?

~Dawn~

I thought this would make a wonderful topic all in it's own (wink) I think body piercing are not safe but I still have some lol there are many things people don't realize that could happen especially if an infection sets in. One can even become paralyzed on one side of their face just from the brow piercing alone...so as sexy as they make look and feel there is always risk as with anything we do.

 My fist piercing was my tongue...ooohhhh my gawd it was wonderful...for me it didn't hurt but lol I had to go back there after because he pierced me crooked...oh that was soooo bad ...NOT....anyway it heals quicker then any piercing you will have...it takes two weeks and yes the tongue does swell and you can't eat solids because it hurts from the sensitivity of the piercing.

Then a year later I built up the courage to have my nipples pierced lol...so I made the appointment and off I went...It felt like I was gonna die but yet I was so excited before I got them done. It is like a rush comes over your body almost like a mind fuck in a way... pain and pleasure all at the same time is how I experienced this piercing.

The plan was to have both done the same time. These piercings are not for everyone and I will explain in a moment. So...he came into the room and prepared me ...I removed my upper clothes and he proceeded...Well...when he did it I thought I was going to go through the sky it is a pain like no other but yet you feel so good that it is done it is truly like a rush...but lol I almost passed out and he said to me...you know we don't have to do the other one...I said I came here for both and I will not leave without them both...give me five minutes and I will be ready...and so he proceeded and same thing...well I came home and said Rob guess what I lifted my shirt and there they were he thought for sure they were fake and when he realized they were real it excited him to know I did this. Anyway, these piercing can take up to 2 years to heal for some people and others have many problems with them so if your body is able to heal from these they are truly a treasure to add to your body.

Then 9 months later I decided to get my belly button done and that was better then an ear piercing lol...piece of cake...4 days later all hell broke loose...everything got infected including my tongue...my piercer could not understand what happened but I have heard stories of people getting well over 20 piercings and that one more they added caused chaos in their body...I was heart broken that I had to take all of them out after what I suffered from getting them and the healing process...the nipple piercings were not healed all the way still even after 9 months and we think this may have caused the problem. By me getting the belly done before my nipples were healed caused the problem...you see when you get a piercing all of the attention is focused on the part of your body that needs to heal...this is what the body says...so if you get 2 within a short amount of time of eachother and it is not healed the chances are greater of something happening...

I did not know this before my nipple piercings otherwise I would have done one at a time and never got my belly done until they were healed... Master loves to torture my nipples and roll them as well but let me tell you something a nipple piercing does have much more sensitivity but until those babies are healed you can't do anything because they will get very sore and hurt like hell for weeks...As for taking them in and out...please note it is not safe and you are taking a risk of them getting infected or closing up by removing your piercings before they are fully healed...Anyway 6 months ago I got my tongue re-pierced and it is fine...Please focus on safety make sure the place you get it done at is sterile and clean...ask to see his or her work in a book or something and don't be afraid to ask questions...this was my experience

excited to hear about others experiences
~Dawn~

Are body piercings safe?

I think they are as safe as the knowledge of the piercer. Any surgery that is done to the body has _some_ inherent risks, and becomes riskier if not done in sterile conditions by people who know what they are doing! A good piercer should not only have enough skill and knowledge to do a good/safe job, but should pass _all_ relevant information on to the client regarding aftercare and possible complications.

My experience was that most places tell you its safe, to keep it clean and dry, and dont bother telling you about any risks, or what to look for, or what to do if it all goes astray.

*grins* now having said that, I will tell you that I only have a belly piercing! But I was very careful before I had it done, I know a girl who has a very nasty scar on her stomach from a bad infection she got, so I checked out a few places, and sought medical advice too... (I really _really_ hate getting infections. Cleaned out too many staph ulcers in my time). It hurt less than getting my ears done, and was fully healed in a week, and have never had any problems with it at all.

safe or not... I don't know, is crossing the road safe?

cheers,

Jules

Good points Dawn and Jules.

I got my nose done a couple years ago, and the admonition about not taking it out until it's healed--goes double for me. Of course, you also want to do the check of the shop you're going to as well. I got mine done at a tattoo shop that had done (counting) 4-5 tats and two piercings on my bro-in-law. The guy has been in business for over 15 years and has been piercing for almost 10. I've seen lots of his work and was impressed with it, and when I went in I looked at the conditions of the work area, etc etc etc. You know, clean area, everything sterilized or disposable as appropriate, gloves used, lots of washing going on. . .

Here is a pretty extensive FAQ about tats, but a lot of the information (especially checking out the studio) applies to piercings as well. I link to the section that applies.

http://www.faqs.org/faqs/bodyart/tattoo-faq/part2/

Also check out this FAQ on about.com
http://tattoo.about.com/style/tattoo/cs/piercefaq/index.htm

hth,
crafty

All

Bodypiercings can be dangerous depending on certain things:

For instance, there are large blood vessels running through the tongue. If the piercer goes through one of them it can be messy.

Also, a woman in England died from a massive bacterial infection that was facilitated by her 128 piercings. (Too much of a good thing, I guess.)

Much of it comes down to common sense. If you don't use a qualified piercer and if you don't keep everything clean, you can get into trouble.

Nightheron