Body piercings

[Naya]

Does anybody here have had their belly buttons pierced? Does it really hurt and get infected easily? How much does it cost? Is it considered a bit tacky when you're past a certain age? Im turning 23 soon but I have always thought belly button piercings were cute, but I was too scared to get one. Im seriously considering getting one.

 

[NYbrowneyedgirl]

I just let my 15 year old daughter get her's pierced in January. It seems to be very popular in high school right now, all of her friends have had their's done.

We went to a shop that had a certified body piercer, who was relly nice and gave her instructions on how to care for her piercing. It cost $25.00 for the piercing and about $20.00 for the belly-ring. We also bought a kit that contained stuff she had to put on her piercing every day to keep it from getting infected. It does take a long time to heal, and the body piercer told us that you're not supposed to remove your starter belly ring for at least a month. After that, you can change it regularly.

My daughter was taking really good care of hers at first, but in just the last month, it did get infected, and it's taking a while to get it cleared up. I do think you need to wear the first ring for at least 3-6 months, take good care of it, make sure it's healed, then change your piercing, rather than change it too soon. I think that's what causes infections.

Also, she said it did not hurt when she had it done, or while it was healing.

I used to think belly rings looked really cool, however they are so common now that I don't know if I like them anymore. The good thing is that if you decide later on in life you don't care for your piercing, the hole is not noticeable. But in order to keep the piercing from closing, you always have to wear a belly ring.

I hope this helps in your decision!

 

[cell]

i got mine pierced on sept. 20 last year

it didnt cost very much, only around 25 bucks for the procedure and ring together.

it kind of hurt for a few seconds, but i didnt care lol. it was a rush.

it does take a long time to heal. i was told sea salt water soaks help in the healing process if it gets infected. i tried it, and it works really good.

good luck!

 

[Mr. BAW]

Our 19-year had his nipples done two months ago;

he followed the cleaning instructions and he is fine...

 

[Headache in a Suitcase]

if he comes home one day and tells you he got a price albert... run...

 

[*BOOMCHAA!*]

I love piercings.
nose

 

[martha]

I'm afraid to pierce anything but my ears. I might catch the ring on something and yank it out. I don't even put earrings in until I've combed my hair and brushed my teeth.

 

[spanisheyes]

Our 19-year had his nipples done two months ago;

I think I just hurt myself from clenching down on my teeth at the thought of what you said.

 

[KhanadaRhodes]

Our 19-year had his nipples done two months ago;

i've only had my ears pierced. i used to have three in each ear (was trying to slowly work my way up to the whole ear eventually) but one of the third holes got a blood blister.

not to mention i got it exactly a week after my huge tattoo, so i was still limping around in slight pain. but i've not felt like getting them redone, more in fear that i'd get another blood blister. what the hell causes those anyway?

but i always had the idea of getting my tongue pierced. but i never got up the courage to do that, especially since it can chip away at your tooth enamel over time. i already have to gum surgery one of these days, i don't need false teeth too!

but yeah, go ahead and get it done! you're only 23 once. when you're 50 you'll look back and regret that you never got it done. plus piercings aren't as much of a commitment as tattoos are. if you decide later down the road (or even soon after) that you don't want one, you can just take it out!

 

[Bonochick]

One of my bosses had her bellybutton pierced. She took care of it like she was supposed to, but she had so many problems with infections. It looked awful and caused her lots of pain. She finally gave up and removed the piercing.

 

[AvsGirl41]

I wanted to get mine done, but now everyone's got them.

Also I was chicken... I had such bad luck with my ear piercings that I was afraid it would just get infected or get ripped out.

My sister has her nose pierced, it looks very cool. I swear, piercings are like a cult...her pierced friend took her to get it done, then my sister promptly tried to get me to do my belly button. I heard her on the phone, "Yeah, I'm still working on her..."

 

[Liesje]

I have no piercings. In fact, my dad is the only person in my immediate family with any piercing. I'd like to get my belly done...maybe this summer after I have time to tone up. I would have done it in high school, but I did gymnastics, mostly bars, and you can't really spare a week, or even a day, to recover from an inflamed belly button.....

 

[arw]

my cousin got her tongue pierced the day she turned 18 just to piss off my aunt and uncle. They didn't say a word to her about it and after about a year she took it out.

 

[Pearl]

I got my belly button pierced about 2 1/2 years ago. I'm so glad I got it done! I love it!

It stings a little when the needle goes through. I think there's two needles, because I remember 2 stings. One for the hole, and one to pull the ring through.

I always wanted to get my nose pierced, but because of my job and since I have terrible allergies, I'm not going to get it done. I just always liked those Indian chains that connected the nose rings to the earrings. They look cool.

 

[indra]

Although body piercings are safe for most people with proper care, some people do need to be more careful. Note the following. It's really not worth permanent, possibly fatal damage to have a navel ring. My Mom had endocarditis twice... a whole month of treatment (not from body piercings though ). It's a very nasty infection.



Teen Contracts Life-Threatening Heart Infection After Navel Piercing


After getting her navel pierced, a 13-year-old girl with congenital heart disease contracted a life-threatening infection of the membrane lining her heart, known as endocarditis.

People with heart-related abnormalities are advised to take antibiotics prior to having procedures such as surgery or dental work because bacteria can gain access to the bloodstream during these events. If the bacteria enter the body, it can affect the valves of the heart, causing endocarditis. If left untreated, the infection can fatally destroy the heart muscle.

Currently there are no recommendations advising people with such conditions to take antibiotics preventively before having a piercing or tattoo. However, researchers note that this event suggests that people should be warned of the risks of infection.

Infective endocarditis is the fourth leading cause of infection-related death in the United States. Recently, there have been repeated reports of people developing infectious endocarditis after body piercing.

The 13-year-old girl reportedly became seriously ill one month after piercing her own navel. She had been born with a heart malformation that had been surgically corrected when she was 3 years old. The girl said she had removed the piercing after two days because it looked infected.

Tests revealed that she had an infection with Staphylococcus aureus in one of the valves in her heart. The girl was treated with heart surgery and antibiotics and released from the hospital after 22 days.

People who are born with heart malformations have a risk of endocarditis with naval piercing, as well as piercing of other parts of the body. Researchers say these patients should be warned of this risk along with other more common piercing risks.

The Pediatric Infectious Disease Journal January, 2003; 22:94-96

 

[bammo2]

I got my belly button pierced when I was 19. I'm allergic to practically every metal in the world owing to my excema and abundant skin allergies, so I had it done with a titanium bar, as that has a VERY low nickel content. I bathed it in Hydrogen Peroxide 3% every day, and never had any problems with it. That's a pretty big deal for me, as when I had my ears pierced, they swelled up so much that my ear closed up over the top of the studs and my ear is still a bit mis shapen now Didn't stop me getting my ears pierced 6 times though.............

I've still got the belly bar in now, and have still never had any issues with it.

http://www.warriorpiercing.com/care1.htm

 

[TripThruUreWires]

my anecdote about piercing:

i went through a whole "i wanna get as many piercings as a possibly can" phase during my teens. I had countless piercings in my ear, a navel ring, and eventually a small nose stud.

i got that out of my system by the time i entered college. with the exception of my navel, i wasn't left with any bad scarring when i let the holes close up.

just one word of advice: if you're physically active, especially if you engage in any contact sports, you might want to avoid a navel ring altogether or at least make sure you secure it to your body with an adhesive (otherwise OUCH!). . . that's how i myself received the keloid scar around my navel.

anyway, thank God i got rid of the majority of my piercings by the time i became a mother; only now do i understand why my mom reacted the way she did when i had all those piercings.

 

[~fairy_girl~]

i have my navel peirced, got it done on my 17th birthday , it got infected about a year later but has been fine since, i'm 24 now and its been fine all them years

i would post a pic of it but its kinda a lame pic as it has a stupid tattoo i drew on when i was bored. and well its just like any other peirced belly button really

 

[Naya]

Thanks everyone for your replies!

If I get it done then I wont get it done soon. I just read that you cant go in swimming pools for 6 months after you get it done. Therefore, because summer is approaching, I will do it after that.

 

[blondeann13]

percings

I've worked as a body piercer. belly button piercings do take a long time to heal. Rather than the hydrogen peroxide (very harsh) I would advise either Lavender or Tea-tree essential oil. They work wonders and are far less harmfull.