Definition:

A technique in which a sharp instrument, mostly a needle is used to make a hole in the body probably to insert some piece of jewelry.

A brief History of Piercing:

Body piercing has been one of the oldest forms of body decoration and modification. Different people from various cultures around the world pierce different parts of their bodies for various reasons. It has been one of the oldest arts of body beautification. Egyptian Pharos and Roman soldiers used piercing for spiritual, ritual and religious purposes.

Types:

1)      Tongue and Eye Brow

2)       Ear piercing

3)       Body piercing (belly button piercing)

Special care to be taken

1)      In case of ear piercing, always try to wear gold earrings first. Rotate the earrings at least after two days.

2)      Don’t remove the earrings before two to three weeks, otherwise the holes will get block again.

3)      Keep in mind that only some metals like

Fourteen to 18 karat solid gold, titanium, niobium, platinum, stainless steel should be used. Other metals, like nickel could produce reaction and allergy.

4)      Make sure that the needle the artist is using for piercing is sterilized.

5)      Never allow your dirty hands to touch your piercing. Always wash your hands before touching and use clean clothes.

6)      The best way to clean your piercing is to wash it under clean running water. Shower always helps in cleaning of the piercing.

7)      Never use ointments or creams on a newly pierced part of the body. One can use anti-bacterial soap if required. Make sure that you have washed thoroughly, so that the soap has been wiped away.

8)      Never rub your piercing with a towel, one should always use disposable paper towel.

 Sometimes piercing gets infected.

Sometimes if proper care is not taken than piercing gets infected. Symptoms of infection include:

Redness

Swelling

Prolonged bleeding

Pus

If infection is severe then immediately see your doctor, as it may be dermatitis i-e a sort of infection which leads to slow healing of the pierced area, causing the skin to fester and become sore.

One of the most common ways to treat an infected piercing is to wash it with sea salt soaks.

1)      First of all wash your hands with an antibacterial soap.

2)      Then take a pinch of salt in a cup and pour hot water in it.

3)      Invert the cup on piercing for 5 minutes.

4)      After that wash the piercing with warm water and dry it up with paper towel.

5)      Note that only sea salt should be used, ordinary table salt is not advisable.

In the end it could be stated that as piercing has become common among the youth, but one should take special care regarding the care and precautions before and after the piercing process. As prevention is much better than cure.