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Information about Body piercing Aftercare
The healing process and body piercing aftercare
A new piercing will be sore, tender or red for several days up to three weeks. Complete healing normally takes several weeks or more. Below are more specific healing time estimates. During this period, care must be taken to avoid infection. Touching - or, for genital and oral piercings, sexual activity - is usually discouraged.
Primary healing usually takes about as long as is listed below; the jewelry should not be removed during this period. The healing time should not be rushed. Very often a piercing that seemed to be healed will start to have problems when it is handled roughly, exposed to mouth contact or unwashed hands before it has truly healed.
Full healing starts after primary healing is complete and usually takes about as long as primary healing, during this period the skin thickens and starts to gain elasticity. An additional toughening up period takes place after full healing is complete, this toughening up period also takes about as long as the primary healing time. During toughening up the skin remodels itself developing an internal texture in the fistula tube that replaces the shiny scar-like internal surface.
Approximate primary healing times:
Head
- Beauty mark: 8 to 10 weeks
- Bridge: 8 to 10 weeks
- Cheek/Anti-Eyebrow: 10 to 12 weeks
- Ear cartilage: 6 to 12 months
- Ear lobes: 6 to 8 weeks
- Eyebrow: 4 to 6 weeks
- Lip/Labret: 4 to 10 weeks
- Nostril: 4 to 8 weeks
- Septum: 6 to 8 weeks
- Tongue: 4 to 6 weeks
- Frenulum: 6 to 8 weeks
Torso
- Female Nipples: 4 to 12 months
- Male Nipples: 2 to 4 months
- Navel piercing: 6 to 12 months
- Hand web: 6 to 9 months
- Surface: 6 to 12 months
- Neck: 6 to 12 months
Female Genital Piercings
- Clitoral Hood: 2 to 6 weeks
- Clitoris: 2 to 4 weeks
- Fourchette: 4to 6 weeks
- Labia Minora: 2 to 4 weeks
- Labia Majora: 2 to 6 months
- Triangle: 8 to 10 weeks
- Pubic: 10 to 12 weeks
Male Genital Piercings
- Ampallang: 4 to 8 months
- Apadravya: 4 to 8 months
- Dydoe: 8 to 12 weeks
- Frenum piercing: 6 to 8 weeks
- Guiche: 8 to 10 weeks
- Prince Albert: 4 to 9 weeks
- Reverse Prince Albert: 4 to 6 months
- Scrotum: 6 to 10 weeks
- Foreskin: 6 to 8 weeks
- Pubic: 10 to 12 weeks
- Lorum: 10 to 12 weeks
Over time, after the piercing, the resulting wound is allowed to heal, forming a tunnel of scar tissue called a fistula. When the piercing has fully healed, the initial jewelry may be changed or removed for short periods.
Behavior that promotes healing
- Revisiting the piercer for an evaluation at any time, if needed
- Practicing good hygiene
- Following the recommended aftercare guidelines
- Taking sufficient supplement tablets Iron, Zinc
Behavior that hinders healing
- Contact between the new piercing and another person's skin or bodily fluids
- Excessive and unnecessary touching of the piercing, especially with unwashed hands
- Failure to take proper aftercare measures
- Smoking and drinking alcohol (in the case of oral piercings)[citation needed]
- Exposure to irritating substances such as cosmetics, perfume, lotion, some topical ointments, etc.
- Immersion in chemically-treated pool water, or natural water (i.e. lakes, rivers, streams, and oceans) which contains bacteria, protozoa, and parasites
- Cleaning with tea tree oil as it keeps the wound open
Cleaning
Oral piercings
Dermatologists normally recommend no rinses after surgery to the oral mucosa because it heals itself extremely well without any interference; however body piercers have adopted ritualized healing techniques that are thought to work because the client heals. There is some evidence that the following body piercer recommended techniques can do harm if the solutions used are too strong, or if overused.
Common folk treatments recommended by body piercers include but are not limited to: For tongue, lip, cheek, and labret piercings, it is recommended to rinse the mouth after smoking, eating and drinking (except water). Listerine (or any mouthwash containing alcohol) is too harsh on the piercing and will most likely dry out the piercing, so it is recommended to get a non-alcoholic mouthwash, or a diluted saline solution, such as Biotene, or TECH 2000 or use a diluted Listerine solution (half Listerine, half water). Several companies make an alcohol-free mouthwash with sea salt as an ingredient. Kissing and oral sex are advised against for 4-6 weeks after the initial piercing, as are excessively hot or spicy foods. Some recommended cold foods are ice cream bars, slushies, and the like to dull the pain. Additionally, anti-inflammatories (such as ibuprofen) can help reduce swelling.
Body piercings
Piercers generally advise using a sea salt rinse (1/8 teaspoon per 8 oz./250 ml of distilled or boiled water) (proportionate mixes are marketed and sold by some companies) or a medical saline rinse, which could be placed in a small glass and held on the piercing for about 10 minutes, not more than twice a day. The solution could also be soaked into a cotton ball and used to gently cleanse the piercing twice a day. Overcleaning and use of inappropriate cleansing agents are common causes of irritation and redness in a piercing. Cleaning the piercing 2-3 times a day should be sufficient. Epsom salt diluted in water is also very effective in the healing process or when swelling and pus, or other signs of a possible infection develop. Another technique is sometimes practiced in which a new piercing is left to heal completely on its own without any cleansing, under the philosophy that the body will treat it as any other minor wound. This is commonly called the LITHA method, which stands for Leave It The Hell Alone. Piercers who use this method compare the healing process to getting stitches to heal up surgical wounds. Since one wants the body to accept the jewelry and create a clean, firm fistula, piercers who use this method advise that any solution or chemical could irritate the piercing, cause rejection, and promote scarring and keloids.
There are some rinses used in ear and body piercing aftercare that have excess chemicals that tend to hinder the healing process. For the most part, piercers agree that hydrogen peroxide and isopropyl alcohol are effective in sanitation but are too strong for fresh piercings and often result in irritated piercings or excess scar tissue.
The debate over what constitutes proper aftercare is belied by the simple fact that a healthy clean piercing that isn't made to become irritated through harsh treatment (of any kind) will almost always heal perfectly; but personal preferences will vary. Remember, almost any disease that can exist in a vagina, anus or mouth can easily be transmitted to a hole in the skin, even if the hole appears to have healed completely.
Changing of initial jewelry to allow for swelling
For some piercings (in particular tongue piercings) changing the initial jewelry is an essential step. In the case of tongue piercing this is because the initial jewelry is significantly longer than the jewelry for a healed piercing, to allow for swelling.
During the primary healing process, it is normal for a white or slightly yellow discharge to be noticeable on the jewellery. Provided there is no pain or swelling, it does not usually signify an infection. This is the dead skin cells and body fluid, blood plasma, It can look unsightly, and may be a little difficult to remove as it can set solid very quickly. Another name for such discharge is lymph which is a fluid produced by the body's lymph nodes - this tends to be a regular occurrence in the healing of a piercing as well as long as there are no signs of pain or swelling.
Removal
Proper removal of piercings is rather simple. Carefully remove the jewelry making sure not to pull or irritate the piercing. Once removed the piercing should heal on its own. It is not advised to remove jewelry when there is an infection present, and doing so may result in trapping infectious waste in your body if the hole closes. Once the infection has passed, then it is safe to remove the jewelry if it is no longer desired.
References
Complications of body piercing, Donna I. Meltzer, American Family Physician. 2005 Nov 15;72(10):2029-34. Article by doctor in peer-reviewed medical journal, available on-line free. Includes patient handout.
Boodman, Sandra G. The Hole Truth, Washington Post, November 7, 2006, retrieved December 4, 2006
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