Thursday, May 21, 2009
Monday, May 18, 2009
Sharing Facts About Piercing
Did you know that...
Chinesse Vegetarian Festival
That... The popular practice of facial and body piercing is not a recent one. Ancient Egyptian (Consider piercing as mark of royalty and signs of wealth), Greek (consider piercing as a badge of macho courage) and Asian art include statues and sculptures of men and women with multiple ear and facial piercings. Indian women have been piercing their noses to indicate marriage for centuries, as a fashionable jewelry, and 18th century Unangan Alaskans pierced their chins and lips in order to represent hunting and spiritual practices.
That... According to the Guinness World Records, Elaine Davidson is the most pierced woman. A former nurse from Brazil, Davidson has 720 piercings, which is a new and improved number from when Guinness first checked her in 2000. At that time, she only had 462, including the 192 on her face.
That... One of a study done by Rutgers University found that Gauntlet, an international chain of body piercing shops, reported 30,000 or more piercings per year. According to the study, 63% of college-aged students (18-22) obtain some sort of body piercing. However, this is one of very few statistical research reports on piercings; they are hard to administer because piercings aren't permanent and people often take theirs out, without a scar or mark left behind.
That... There are several different names for various piercings and they usually don't relate to the body part that is being pierced. Here are some of the more popular terms:
• conch: a piercing through the main shell of the ear.
• tragus: a piercing that goes through the small tab of tissue that is connected to the side of the face and slightly covers part of the ear canal.
• daith: a piercing through the inner ear cartilage.
• helix: a piercing through the outer ear cartilage ridge.
• rook: a piercing through the cartilage fold above the conch.
• labret: a piercing centered below the lip and above the chin.
• madonna/monroe: an off center top lip piercing.
• fourchette: a piecing through the rear of vaginal opening.
• hood: a piercing through the clitoral hood.
That... There are several risks of getting pierced. The use of unsanitary piercing instruments can cause infection, including the disease Hepatitis B. Experts advise those looking to get pierced to ask friends or family who have piercings to recommend piercers who were courteous, who sanitized their piercing instruments and provided thorough aftercare instructions. They also encourage potential piercing candidates to go to the parlor and take a look around before the actual piercing and tattoo.
That... Piercers either use a piercing gun or a needle. Although both are standard, experts say parlors that use needles may be more sanitary. This is because needles are sterilized in autoclaves (a machine that cleans via very hot steam under high pressure) while piercing guns are made of plastic and cannot be placed in an autoclave. Piercing guns use antiseptic wipes instead, which do not completely remove infected blood. Also, piercing guns are mostly used by mall piercers, who are usually only trained for two weeks, while parlor piercers receive as long as three years of training in sterilization, human anatomy, the circulatory system and ways to make the piecing less painful.
That... According to experts, if you decide to get pierced, here's a general outline of what to expect when getting pierced:
• Pick your jewelry first.
• Ask to watch your piercer set up. S/he should wash his hands, put on latex gloves and place the piercing equipment on a metal tray. The needle should be in a sealed in an individual sterile package--don't allow yourself to be pierced if it isn't!
• The piercer will mark the piercing area with a pen.
• The piercer will take a small cotton swab and dab around the piercing in case you bleed a little, which is normal.
That... After you've been pierced:
• Your piercer will go over how to care for your piercing. They should have a sheet outlining the instructions. Read this before you leave the piercing parlor to make sure you understand everything thoroughly (ointments, harsh soaps, and hydrogen peroxide are NOT proper cleaning agents).
• Be committed to cleaning your piercing every day during the healing process. It's normal for it to swell, secrete a whitish-yellowish fluid, bruise and/or itch.
• Be careful. Try not to engage in rough physical activity that could injure your piercing.
That... That there are a few basic things about where to get pierced and how piercings affect those areas:
Ear Piercing
Ears: The most basic site. The lobes are easier to pierce, soft and less painful. The tops of the ears, where there is more cartilage, are more difficult and thus more painful... expect a crunch when the needle goes through and don't be grossed out! Healing times vary, of course; ear lobes usually take about 6-8 weeks to heal, but cartilage piercings can take anywhere from 4 months to 1 year to heal. My cartilage piercings took about a year.
Nose Piercing
Nose: The bacteria in your nose can cause infections, but I rarely hear of an infected nose piercing because these are usually left alone for the most part. Nose piercings can take 2-4 months to heal. These are really annoying to change out.
Eyebrow Piercing
Eyebrow: These get trickly because they can be disturbed easily when you sleep. Makeup can also irritate the piercing. There is the risk of migration, in which the piercing shifts and moves over time. This can take 6-8 weeks to heal. Barbells, curved barbells and captive bead rings are worn in the eyebrow.
Belly Button Piercing
Belly button: Navel piercings are more likely to become infected because of irritation from tight clothing. A pierced area needs air to heal. These usually take 4-12 months to heal. My friend says it's annoying to clean and sterilize these piercings when they're healing; she would have to take a cup of cleaning fluid and hold it to the piercing to cleanse it. Most kinds of ring or bar jewelry can be worn in a navel piercing, although they are most often pierced with a barbell, which is worn until the piercing has fully healed. A wide variety of decorative jewelry is available for navel - simple navel barbells, navel barbells with dangling pendants and navel barbells with attached belly chains.
Lip Piercing
Lip/cheek: Infections are more possible, but my lip didn't get infected and I played with the piercing a lot. It's supposed to take 2-3 months to heal, but I remember mine healing fairly soon. I had to use mouthwash throughout the healing process. Gum damage is possible. Basically, the ADA (American Dental Association) is against any oral piercing. Rings and studs are generally worn in the lip while cheeks usually have studs.
Tounge Piercing
Tongue: Tongue piercings swell a lot at first but heal fairly quickly (around 4 weeks) if the right type of jewelry is used. Infections can occur because of the bacteria from your mouth. Mouthwashes are recommended during the healing process. Your teeth can get damaged from the piercing rubbing and hitting them so much, wearing down the enamel. Gum damage is also possible. Again, the ADA advises against getting an oral piercing. Tongue piercings are most often pierced with straight barbell style jewelry.
Nipple Piercing
Nipple: Nipple piercings can damage some of the milk-producing glands in a young woman's breasts. This can cause infections or problems later if the woman decides to breast-feed her baby. These take 3-6 months to heal and take longer when tighter clothing slows the healing process.
Genitalia: Ouch! Nerve damage is an issue with these piercings. People are advised to abstain from sexual intercourse during the healing process. Blood loss is actually a risk with these piercings. Female genitalia take about 4-10 weeks to heal while a male genitalia takes about 4 weeks to 6 months.
That… It has been noted that half of all piercings will require medical attention due to the various dangers of body piercing. This means that when you get pierced, you should be aware of the fact that there is a fifty percent chance that you will need to visit a doctor for some reason, whether it is to treat an infection, an allergic reaction, or a disease contracted from the new body piercing.
Many of these dangers can be avoided by following simple rules of safety precaution.
There are many dangers of body piercing that most people who get pierced do not even realize. Some of these body piercing dangers include infection, scarring, allergic reactions, injury, and disease.
It is most important to do your research before you get a new piercing. Before deciding on a piercing parlor, make sure you ask questions and be certain that they follow necessary safety precautions and sterilization procedures. If the instruments being used are not sterilized, there is definite risk of contracting diseases such as hepatitis B, hepatitis C, liver cancer, HIV, and tetanus. Some of these diseases that are contracted from body piercing may not even be detected until up to ten years later.
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