Body Piercings "Aftercare"

by POWERotics Foundation

Piercing: Caring for your new piercing

Okay, now that you've gotten your piercing(s), how do you care for it/them properly? Basic care is very simple: wash twice a day with antiseptic of antibacterial soap (the brand is entirely up to you) and warm water and keep the piercing lightly covered with antiseptic gauze for a few days if the pierced area allows for this. If not, for example in the case of genital piercings, change underwear twice a day. Do not apply antiseptics like iodine or Savlon.

A few other handy hints:

• Always wash your hands thoroughly BEFORE taking care of your piercing
• White, milky and sometimes sticky discharge after a piercing is NORMAL and may occur until six weeks or more after the piercing. Remove it while cleaning. Sometimes nipple piercings may cause some lactation (even with males). Again that's normal. Any other indication may mean you should see your doctor, if nothing else, just as a precaution.
• Avoid the sauna until your piercing has healed completely.
• Avoid swimming pools, hot tubs and public bathing houses until the piercing has healed completely
• Avoid playing with nipples and labia (especially in the erotic power exchange sense of the word such as clamping or weighting) until the healing process has been completed
• Sex with fresh genital piercings is not advised during the first two weeks and may be a bit painful until the healing process has completed
• Healing in the genital area and in the mouth goes a lot quicker, compared to navel or nipple piercings
• If you've chosen a tongue or lip piercing, avoid hot and spicy food during the first week
• Tree oil or lavender oil is often recommended for care as well as general relaxation
• Don't just clean the area, but also clean the piercing itself
• Vitamin E (oral intake or oil/cream) will speed up the healing process and prevent scaring
• Avoid and direct contact between other people's body fluids (including saliva) and your new piercing until the healing process has been completed. This is especially important if you have different partners, to avoid the risk of sexually transmitted diseases

Treating facial piercings

Antiseptics containing benzalkonium or benzethonium chloride are commonly recommended for cleaning ear and facial piercings. The cleaning agent should be used two to three times a day. If the skin around the piercing becomes dry and flaky, rinse the area with water after cleaning.

Use of a liquid antibacterial soap once a day is also recommended to break down bacteria-trapping oils. Apply it to the piercing while rotating the jewelry back and forth. Allow it to saturate the piercing for 3 minutes. Rinse thoroughly by rotating the jewelry under running water. Any dried discharge around the piercing and on the jewelry should first be softened and removed with a cotton swab saturated in the disinfectant or with warm salt water. The disinfectant should be applied to both entrances and allowed to saturate the inside of the piercing by rotating the jewelry back and forth.

Do not allow your piercing to come in contact with cosmetics, lotions, or perfumes, which can cause extreme irritation. Be sure your pillow case is clean. Do not use laundry detergent containing stain-removing enzymes. Do not wear hatbands or bandannas over ear and eyebrow piercings. In the case of ear piercings, use the other ear for telephones, or place a clean tissue between the ear and the receiver. Keep hair away from piercings.

Treating mouth related piercings

Most piercers suggest rinsing with an antibacterial mouthwash for 30 seconds after eating or drinking anything other than water and after smoking. Because the piercing must be disinfected so frequently mouthwashes with high alcohol content quickly dry out the tongue's protective mucous layer. Alcohol-free and reduced alcohol mouthwashes are suggested over mouthwashes such as Listerine which have a high alcohol content.

During the first 24 to 48 hours the tongue usually swells to almost twice its normal size. Apply ice and drink ice water to minimize swelling and tenderness. Some people use over the counter anti-inflammatory medications to prevent or reduce swelling. Don't take Aspirin which thins the blood. Swelling should steadily recede during the next 3 to 5 days. Usually the area immediately around the piercing will be swollen for an additional 2 to 4 weeks.

During the first two days the piercing may bleed while you sleep or upon waking. If the piercing doesn't clot or bleeds after 48 hours, the piercing may have nicked a blood vessel and this may require medical attention.

Smoking may be irritating but not necessarily damaging to a new piercing, but the use of chewed tobacco products is highly discouraged in the case of any oral piercing as the use of chewed tobacco has been attributed to oral cancers and lesions.

Oral jewelry will collect plaque, especially in the crevice between the ball or disc and the bar. Wear on the jewelry (scratches incurred from contact with the teeth) can contribute to plaque accumulation. Plaque traps bacteria which could contribute to an infection. Daily use of an anti-plaque rinse is recommended to prevent plaque build-up.

Treating body piercings

Liquid antibacterial soaps are recommended for these. Avoid using deodorant or moisturizing soaps on your piercings. Soaps are best used in the shower, twice daily for most piercings. Warm salt water soaks help remove dried discharge and lymph secretions, relieve itching, and increase circulation to the piercing. Half a teaspoon of sea salt or table salt to one cup water is suggested.

Treating genital piercings

Genital piercings should be treated as body piercings. However the cleaning products may irritate the urethra in both men and women and the vagina in the case of women. After cleaning urinate to flush out any residues in the urethral opening. Women should take care not to let any cleaning agent enter the vagina and to rinse thoroughly with water as the depletion of bacteria may contribute to the incidence of yeast infections (Candida albicans). Women should use the most lint-free toilet tissue available. Genital piercings should be cleaned after intercourse. During the healing period, use of a condom during intercourse and dental dams during all other contact is recommended. Also, certain lubricants and spermicides may irritate piercings.

The healing process itself

Piercings heal by forming epithelial cells along the inside of the piercing to protect the body from the foreign object. These epithelial cells form a tube-like layer of skin along the inside of the piercing. This process usually takes six, sometimes eight weeks; less in the case of genital and mouth-related piercings. Once this layer forms it must toughen and strengthen while granulation tissue forms beneath the epithelial layer. The healing process may be prolonged if the piercing is excessively irritated or the body rejects the jewelry. If the piercing is migrating or being rejected, the epithelial layer will get disrupted. If the jewelry is rejected due to a metal sensitivity, the entrances of the piercing will begin to gape around the jewelry.

During healing the piercing is open to infection and disease transmission. All piercings produce a (white, milky and sticky) lymph discharge during the healing period. There may be a slight redness around the holes, swelling immediately around the piercing, and some tenderness; these symptoms should steadily subside during the first week. After the epithelial layer has formed, usually the second and third month, the piercing may feel tight around the jewelry. The entrances of the piercing should start to round inwards, like a donut hole.

The epithelial layer can easily be dislodged; do not force the jewelry to rotate without first applying an appropriate cleaning solution and warm water. The piercing may need to be soaked in warm water to allow the skin to expand so that the jewelry can be rotated. If you plan to keep your piercing don't remove your jewelry for any length of time while it's healing. If a jewelry change is necessary because of a metal sensitivity or dimension concerns, the change must be continuous to prevent the piercing from shrinking or closing. Most body piercings require at least a year or two before they can be left empty without the risk of growing closed and most piercings will close even after that.

Based on materials from the POWERotics Foundation © 1996-2000