Imagine going home and finding that your belly button is inflamed and swollen. It’s really pretty disgusting, and you’re really worried about the red ring around your shiny new belly ring in your naval, so you go to the hospital. The doctor sends you back home with antibiotics after telling you that your new piercing must go. I’m sure everyone knows someone that this has happened to. This happened to a friend of mine who didn’t clean her piercing when she first got it, and now has a permanent scar on her stomach.
Body piercing and tattoos can be cool, but only if they’re taken care of. Most tattoo parlors and body piercing places have information about how to take care of them, but it’s important to know what to look for when choosing to get something done. Most states don’t regulate body piercing, so it’s really up to you. It’s important that the artist and studio has good safety standards, because unclean instruments carry a risk for diseases, including HIV and hepatitis B infection.
Everyone has heard how to choose a piercing or tattoo studio. We know it’s important to make sure the studio is well- established and that it is clean, with good lighting. We know new latex gloves and sterilized equipment should be used between each client. What many people may not know though is that piercing should always be done with a needle rather than a gun.
This is because a piercing gun can’t be properly sterilized, although (for ear piercing) the earring studs may be clean. Similarly, some people may not know that when getting body art done, new containers of ink should be used every time.
When getting a tattoo, interviewing the artist isn’t such a bad idea either. It’s permanent after all, and flipping through an artist’s sample book will probably help. Ask about how much experience and training the artist has had. A good professional will have received training and/or served as an apprentice.
Personally, I don’t think I could ever get a tattoo. After all, it’s permanent, and I’d have to choose something I’d like in 10, 20 and 30 years.
As for body piercing, the type of jewelry used is equally as important as the sterile needle. Gold-filled, gold-plated or sterling silver shouldn’t be used because they can chip, tarnish, or degrade. Jewelry for piercing should also be made of surgical stainless steel, 14-karat or 18-karat solid gold, titanium or niobium only.
For a piercing to heal well, it must be cleaned consistently. This is a mistake one of my friends made. She visited the doctor in time before it got really bad. It’s important to clean the piercing with an antibacterial soap at least twice a day while healing, and it’s also important to rotate it. It isn’t a good idea to use alcohol or hydrogen peroxide to clean the piercing because they are too harsh and slow new cell growth. The best way to clean a piercing is to soak it in a mixture of hot water and sea salt. Use more salt than water though, because the salt can get in the piercing and irritate it.
Apparently branding and scarification can be done too. Branding is done by heating surgical sheet metal to 1,900-2,100 degrees and then placing it on the skin. Scarification involves making small cuts to the skin. I might consider getting a tattoo, and I have already had five piercings – one in the belly and two in each ear, but I know I’ll never be branded or scarified. I’ve heard that tattoos feel like multiple bee stings over and over again, so I don’t even want to imagine being branded with a piece of metal. I definitely give props to the people that have them though.
It’s your own health, so take care of it.
