Body Piercing Aftercare & Healing Essentials

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Oral piercing “don’ts”

• Don’t smoke, chew gum or use snuff or rub during the healing period; these increase the risk of piercing infections astronomically.

• Don’t play with the piercing jewelry or click it against your teeth; this can cause cracking of your tooth enamel.

• Don’t engage in any activities, including kissing, that exchange body fluids during the initial healing period of several weeks.

General tips to improve healing success

Proper piercing aftercare is the primary reason for a successfully healed body modification, but your overall health and how well you take care of yourself is also a contributing factor. If you are run-down or your immune system is compromised, you will not heal as quickly and you will be more prone to infection. For that reason, you should keep in mind a few things whenever you have any kind of piercing in order to help ensure that your piercing aftercare measures are given the best chance of success:

• Drink plenty of fluids, especially water. Eight glasses of day at the very least.

• At least eight hours of sleep a night

• Try to limit the amount of stress in your life

• Vitamin C and Zinc supplements to help speed the healing process

• Lots of fruits and vegetables, and a multi-vitamin if needed

• If the pain bothers you, take Ibuprofen. If you are comfortable, you are less likely to fidget with the piercing.

Signs of trouble

Even with excellent piercing aftercare, there will be some swelling at the site of a piercing for a few days. You’ll also have some clear, watery discharge and perhaps some mild bleeding. The bleeding will usually stop within 24 hours, while the discharge may last for several days or weeks. This is simply drainage of the wound and actually helps prevent piercing infection.

Signs that the piercing is in trouble include:

• Discharge that becomes noticeably thicker and is yellow or green in color. This is a sign or infection and should be checked by a doctor.

• Inflammation that lasts longer than a few days, with redness and irritation. See your piercing professional or doctor.

• Red streaks from the piercing site and a fever, along with body aches. See your doctor.

• Hives, redness, itching and irritation around the piercing, which may signal an allergic reaction to the piercing jewelry. Your piercing professional can try replacing it with an alternative metal.

• Difficulty breathing or wheezing after your piercing, or a feeling that your mouth or throat are swelling closed. Seek emergency attention immediately!

So how long does all this healing take?

If you perform your piercing aftercare properly, your body piercing will heal cleanly and leave you with a beautiful new piercing with no scarring, migration or keloids. The time it takes to achieve this, however, will vary depending upon what kind of piercing it is.

The general timeframes listed below are just for reference. All of these depend upon your individual body’s response, how much stress you are under and a thousand other variables.

Earlobe or Eyebrow: 6 – 8 weeks
Genitals: 4 weeks – 4 months
Labret/Lip: 6 – 8 weeks
Navel: 6 – 18 months
Nipple: 3 – 6 months
Nostril: 3 months – 1 year
Septum: 6 – 8 weeks
Tongue: 4 – 6 weeks
Cartilage: 3 months – 1 year

Disclaimer: All piercing aftercare information provided herein is for information purposes only. It is not meant to be a guideline for body piercing aftercare, but a starting point in making an informed decision concerning body piercing. If you have any questions or proceed with a body piercing, please be sure to discuss the procedure with a medical or piercing professional and get complete and clearly understood piercing aftercare instructions at that time. Evaluseek Publishing claims no responsibility for the accuracy of this content, which is based on the general consensus of the piercing community, which is constantly evolving and changing.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Lori Wilkerson is a full-time freelance writer who loves her work because it gives her the opportunity to learn more about the world every day. Right now, she knows a little bit about almost everything, and a lot about body jewelry, wholesale body jewelry, and toe rings. She has two dogs who are spoiled and one teenager who is not.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Lucy_P._Roberts

This article on the "Body Piercing Aftercare & Healing Essentials" reprinted with permission.
Copyright © 2004 Evaluseek Publishing.

This document last modified Saturday, 11-Oct-2008 10:20:36 EDT

Tidbits & Stuff was born on Thursday, March 9, 2006
© 2006, 2007, 2008 Felicia A. Williams

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