About Piercings:
The most important thing to remember about piercings: NEVER TOUCH THE PIERCING DURING HEALING!! NEVER TURN OR MOVE THE JEWELRY DURING HEALING!
It is important for you to understand why aftercare is recommended for piercings. If you understand why aftercare is recommended, you will understand why it is not a good idea to use improper aftercare products or techniques.
AFTERCARE HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH KEEPING A PIERCING FROM GETTING INFECTED! You reduce the risk of infection by leaving the piercing alone and not touching it for any reason!
Unlike a skinned knee or elbow, a piercing is a "tube". It is a deep puncture wound. When you " skin" your knee or elbow (a flat wound on the skin), body fluid leaks out of the skinned tissue. Air hits the body fluid as it leaks out and causes it to dry on the surface of the wound, forming a scab.
Because a piercing is a "tube" (deep puncture wound) ...you have open tissues inside the "tube". No air gets inside the "tube"; therefore, the body fluid does not dry inside the "tube". It does not scab inside the piercing hole. Rather, body fluid leaks out of the hole on a continuous basis for a while until it begins to heal. Once the body fluid exits the piercing hole, the air then hits the body fluid, causing it to dry or form a scab or crusting around the jewelry post. The crusting (scabbing) does not allow air circulation. Air circulation is helpful for healing. Therefore, the ONLY reason for aftercare on the piercing site, is to remove that crusting allowing for air to circulate around the piercing.
If you have a skinned knee, it is best to leave the scab intact and allow it to fall off by itself. With a piercing, we do want the continual scabbing to fall off frequently for air circulation.
We never use any foreign liquids for aftercare. No alcohol! No peroxide! No soaps! Many of the aforementioned products are cytotoxins that destroy healthy tissue. They can cause the tissue to die. That is called "tissue necrosis". Necrotic tissue cannot heal as it is no longer viable. The only thing that is safe and helpful is a sterile saline solution (0.9% saline) in the form of a spray. No Q-tips, no cotton balls. No blotting! One spray to the area 3 times a day, letting it dry naturally. It will only be wet for a couple of minutes. Just long enough to allow the crusting to loosen and fall off easier.
NEVER SOAK A PIERCING FOR AFTERCARE PURPOSES. This is inappropriate, pulls healing cells away from the wound and can greatly increase irritation.
Piercing Aftercare Instructions and Information
Taking care of a piercing is fairly simple. Infection is always a possibility with any kind of procedure that breaks skin. The number one cause of any irritation or infection is from the hands of the person who received the piercing. Your hands come into contact with a number of elements that can be potentially harmful to your piercing. Just imagine the number of germs that can accumulate on doorknobs, counter tops, money, other people’s hands, and so on. The main rule for any piercing is not to touch it. If for some reason you find yourself in a situation where you must touch the piercing, PROPERLY WASH YOUR HANDS THOROUGHLY with an antibacterial soap before making any hand contact with it. BUT...It is best to NEVER TOUCH YOUR PIERCING DURING HEALING!!!
You need to immediately wash bedding in hot water. Change bedding frequently and use a clean towel every time you shower. This will help reduce the risk of infection from these items. Additionally, avoid bath tubs, hot tubs, pools and saunas during healing. Physical activity that may adversely affect the piercing is not advised during healing. Including, but not limited to: Swimming (including pools, hottubs, lakes, rivers, oceans), sports such as football, basketball, baseball, soccer, volleyball, heavy gym workouts, etc…
What to expect:
A few hours after the procedure, you may experience some redness, swelling, and minor bruising which can last for a few days. In the first 4 - 8 weeks, you will notice crust and a lightly colored discharge (sometimes light yellowish green or whitish) coming from the piercing. This is normal. This secretion from your body is not pus. Pus is usually thick and dark green or dark yellow in color. A licensed physician is the only person who can confirm or diagnose an infection. However, it's good to know what might and what might not be an infection to avoid mistaking a common irritation for an infection. Most irritations can be fixed by changing either your aftercare methods or jewelry.
A good mindset to have with a healing piercing is that you want your body to get used to it being there in the most natural way possible. Be careful not to over clean your piercing, excessive cleaning can lead to irritation. If you feel that the piercing is infected or irritated, it’s vital that the jewelry should remain in. Removing the jewelry will only trap the collection of discharge when the skin heals. If you feel that the problem is serious, go see your piercer to look at it or consult a physician, preferably one experienced with piercings.
All piercings are prone to rejection, especially piercings that are over-cleaned and touched. Depending on your body, immune system, skin type, and piercing selection, the chance of rejection may be more than normal. Redness, clear fluid discharge, and skin recession near the piercing entry point are signs of rejection. If you feel that this is happening, it is highly suggested that you seek your piercer to assess it and possibly have the jewelry taken out to prevent further scarring. Bandaging a piercing is not necessary.
A SALINE SOLUTION works the best for piercings. It's a natural resource that doesn't irritate the skin. Simply spray the sterile saline solution directly on to the piercing. Allow it to dry naturally. You do not need to do anything else! Do not take the jewelry out! DO NOT TURN OR ROTATE JEWERLY! Spray 3 times a day until you run out of the spray. Then you don’t have to do any more aftercare.
Products such as Neosporin and A &D ointment may cause dirt particles to cling to the piercings. Other products such as bacitracin, rubbing alcohol, hydrogen peroxide, iodine, Betadine, and Listerine are old school methods that will irritate a piercing. With the current popularity of the body modification industry, many newer products have been created that are engineered just for piercings. (i.e. Sterile Saline Solutions)
Healing times differ depending on the location of the piercing. With the exception of oral piercings, you do not have to change the jewelry of the piercing. Most piercings take around a year to finally finish healing and have the ability to be taken out without it closing overnight. Oral piercings start off with slightly longer jewelry because those areas are prone to swelling. The jewelry of oral piercings can be switched 2 months, (but the piercing is NOT healed yet).
Possible side effects from the procedure may include, but are not limited to:
Pain, redness, swelling, painful fluid filled bumps that are difficult to get rid of, rejection or migration of jewelry, infection, permanent change of appearance, social stigmas and judgements, permanent scarring, possible disfigurement.
Many doctors may not understand body piercings. In that same light, body piercers are not doctors. The suggestions given in this form are based on the experience of professionals in the body piercing industry and are not intended to be presented as medical advice.
FOR ORAL PIERCINGS:
For SWELLING CONTROL: Gently suck on ice for the first 72 hours. You may also use an over the counter anti-inflammatory medication as directed on the packaging, such as Advil, Motrin, Ibuprofen, Aleve...as long as your doctor approves you to take such medications. There is one more piece of swelling control of oral piercings that should not be overlooked: Elevation. Elevate your head above the level of your heart when sleeping. You must do this for four nights. Avoid oral contact of any kind (no wet kissing, oral sex, etc...) for 6 weeks. Reduce your intake of warm beverages, hot/spicy foods, tobacco, alcohol, or anything that might irritate your mouth during healing, especially the first week. Use ONLY a non-alcohol based mouthwash for aftercare...ie Biotene. Every time you do anything except drink water, you’ll need to do a quick rinse and then spit out the mouthwash. Never swallow mouthwash!Healing times depend on many things such as lifestyle, health, personal hygiene, etc... A clear or white to a light yellowish drainage is normal.
Signs of reaction to jewelry can include, but are not limited to:
Pain, redness, swelling, drainage, itching, red bumps or rash. If there is any sign of reaction to jewelry, it is best to remove the jewelry, or change the jewelry to a different type of metal. If you don’t know if you are having a reaction to jewelry or the site may be infected (signs of infection listed below), it is time to see your doctor.
Signs of infection can include, but are not limited to:
Pain or increased tenderness of the procedure site, general deep redness, swelling, warmth to the touch (around the area), puss that is dark yellow or green (purulent drainage), fever (increased body temperature), odor, red streaks going from the procedure site towards the heart. If you have any signs of infection, it is TIME TO SEE YOUR DOCTOR!